• Use of Existing Tools and Technologies;

• Institutional and Organizational Issues;

• The Broad Role of Pavement Management; and

• New Tools, Methodologies and Technology.

Top short-term needs outlined in the roadmap include communicating pavement management information and benefits, developing and using effective performance measures, improving the skills of pavement managers, developing automated condition data processing tools, and developing methods to quantify the benefits of pavement management.

The long-term needs include ones that will require research to improve existing practices. Priority long-term needs include defining and calculating the effect of pavement preservation treatments on pavement life, defining the impact of pavement management investment levels on benefits, using pavement management data to support design activities, developing performance models that consider a series of pavement preservation treatments, and developing a method for effective modeling of structural condition.

The roadmap also looks at the steps required to make these identified priorities a reality, noting that “the successful implementation of the roadmap demands a focused, cooperative approach among national and international organizations,” the document says.

The roadmap is available online at www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/asstmgmt/index.cfm, along with an accompanying Executive Summary (Pub. No. FHWAHIF-11-014). Download your copy at www.fhwa.dot.gov/asset/hif11011/hif11011.pdf.

Bridge Preservation Guide

A new guide to bridge preservation also was released in 2011 and is available for download.

Published in May 2011, the new Bridge Preservation Guide: Maintaining State of Good Repair Using Cost-Effective Investment Strategies provides an overview of preventive and systemic preservation activities for bridge structures.

Bridge preservation is defined as actions or strategies that prevent, delay or reduce deterioration of bridges or bridge elements, restore the function of existing bridges, keep bridges in good condition and extend their life, according to the guide.

Like pavement preservation, effective bridge preservation actions are intended to delay the need for costly reconstruction or replacement actions by applying preservation strategies and actions on bridges while they are still in good or fair condition and before the onset of serious deterioration. Bridge preservation encompasses preventive maintenance and rehabilitation activities.

An effective bridge preservation program:

• employs long-term strategies and practices at the network level to preserve the condition of bridges to extend their useful life;

• has sustained and adequate resources and funding sources; and

• has adequate tools and processes to ensure that the appropriate cost-effective treatments are applied at the appropriate time.

Download the new Bridge Preservation Guide at www.fhwa.dot.gov/bridge/preservation/guide/guide.pdf.

High-Volume Road Preservation

In addition to the Bridge Preservation Guide, new guidance is now available for the preservation of high-volume roadways.