One of the key functions of network-level pavement management is to support the selection of pavement sections needing maintenance and the assignment of “general” pavement treatments.

Often the results either are significantly under-designed or over-designed when structural capacity is taken into account. This discrepancy may be reduced by considering the structural capacity of the existing pavements as part of the network-level decision process. The recent addition of network-level falling-weight deflectometer (FWD) data to other information the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) collects has made this improvement possible.

Phase I of this project developed a structural index for flexible pavements for use in network-level pavement evaluation. Phase II will focus on developing a similar index for both composite and rigid pavements and implementing the proposed structural indices.