Privatized Highway Asset Management and Maintenance
As part of a statewide public-private sector partnership effort, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) awarded VMS, Inc. a contract for asset management and maintenance on 250 centerline miles of interstate highway in Virginia. The project includes four- and six-lane sections of I-77, I-81, I-95, and I-381, with an initial contract period of five years and an option for an additional five years. This is the largest Interstate highway maintenance privatization project in the United States to date.
The Champaign, IL-based firm ERES Consultants, Inc. is serving as a sub-consultant to VMS on this project, providing systems development, maintenance management, data collection, and pavement engineering services. The ERES team has had an important role in the project, which has helped demonstrate the viability of privatizing highway asset maintenance management.
As part of VMS's efforts on this project, a complete inventory of the highway assets was performed. Before any inventory data could be collected, however, ERES developed a data collection guide to outline the protocols for both automated and manual surveys. The purpose of the guide is to standardize the data collection procedures, promote uniform data collection activities, and ensure that the asset management database is populated with accurate information. ERES also provided data collection training to VMS personnel.
Inventory data were collected using both manual and automated survey techniques. ERES was responsible for the automated surveys and subcontracted with Pave Tech, Inc. to perform much of this task. Video images were collected using high-resolution cameras mounted on Pave Tech's video inspection vehicle. Four cameras on this vehicle point downward to capture images of the pavement surface, and several additional cameras are mounted such that a panoramic view of the highway and side views of the roadside appurtenances can be accumulated. The collected data are then analyzed using Pave Tech's computerized image processing workstation to determine the type, size, location, and condition of the identified assets.
Highway Quality Management System
Accurate inventory data serve as the nucleus of VMS's Highway Quality Management System (HQMS). The HQMS software, developed by ERES, uses inventory and other collected data to establish priority programs and plan short- and long-term budget needs in a fully integrated manner. In addition, the HQMS software allows VMS to project annual workloads, issue work orders, and put a rating on the level of quality of its maintenance efforts. The system is located at the VMS central office in Richmond and is deployed to the field offices via a wide-area network.
The HQMS software comprises the following five modules:
- Inventory management
- Workload analysis
- Maintenance rating program
- Work order
- Pavement management
The maintenance rating program (MRP) allows VMS personnel to measure the quality of its maintenance efforts and to verify compliance with the VDOT's level of criteria. The MRP is based on the results of National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Project 14-12, Highway Maintenance Quality Assurance, which was recently conducted by ERES.
The pavement management module is significant because the pavement structures (traffic lanes, ramps, and shoulders) are the largest assets that VMS will be required to maintain on the Virginia project, in terms of both size and financial investment. With 250 centerline miles and more than 1,200 lane-miles of highway, the pavements will require a great deal of attention and will be one of the most visible assets to the traveling public. To ensure that the project's pavements are maintained adequately and cost-effectively, VMS asked ERES to implement the Decision Support System (DSS) for Pavements pavement management system for the entire project.
Project-Level Pavement Evaluation
DSS for Pavements is a powerful network-level planning tool. The system develops an optimized network-wide pavement maintenance and rehabilitation plan, predicts the time frame when a particular pavement section will require repair, and provides a general indication of the type of repairs that will be needed. Once the system identifies sections for rehabilitation, ERES conducts follow-up project-level evaluations to determine the final rehabilitation requirements.
The project-level evaluations include ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveys, coring, and falling weight deflectometer testing. These data, along with traffic data, are analyzed to assess existing pavement conditions, determine in-place load-carrying capabilities, and determine required rehabilitation activities (e.g., overlay type and thickness). In conducting these studies, ERES provides VMS with engineered pavement rehabilitation designs that account for in-place conditions and projected traffic levels.
As many agencies are finding out, employee training and education are important factors in the success of a service-oriented business. Through periodic training and education seminars, employees can become more skilled and more knowledgeable about the newest technologies in their field.
ERES and VMS agree that ongoing training programs are an extremely beneficial component of this project. For this reason, ERES is providing VMS staff with training on inventory data collection, MRP field surveys and data analysis, and pavement maintenance techniques. This training helps to ensure that all processes are performed in a manner that results in a well-maintained and cost-effective interstate system.
The Virginia privatized highway asset management and maintenance project has performed admirably in its first year. With assistance from ERES, VMS has put into place an organized, systematic process for highway asset management. This process, when carefully executed, will allow VMS to provide the right maintenance, at the right time, and for the right reason.
About the Author: Marshall Stivers is ERES Consultants, Inc.'s director of highway maintenance systems. For more information about this project, contact Marshall at the ERES Florida Office: Tel. 850-893-0828; e-mail at mstivers@eresnet.com.