Automated Data Collection and Quality Management for Pavement Condition Reporting (2022)

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2022 Automated Data Collection and Quality Management for Pavement Condition Reporting A Synthesis of Highway Practice Linda M. Pierce Nichols Consulting Engineers, CHTD Spokane, WA Sarah E. Stolte Nichols Consulting Engineers, CHTD Reno, NV Research sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Ofcials in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration Subscriber Categories Highways • Data and Information Technology • Pavements N A T I O N A L C O O P E R A T I V E H I G H W A Y R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M NCHRP SYNTHESIS 589

Published reports of the NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM are available from Transportation Research Board Business Office 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 and can be ordered through the Internet by going to https://www.mytrb.org/MyTRB/Store/default.aspx Printed in the United States of America NCHRP SYNTHESIS 589 Project 20-05, Topic 52-07 ISSN 0547-5570 ISBN 978-0-309-68721-8 Library of Congress Control Number 2022942469 © 2022 by the National Academy of Sciences. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the graphical logo are trade- marks of the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. COPYRIGHT INFORMATION Authors herein are responsible for the authenticity of their materials and for obtaining written permissions from publishers or persons who own the copyright to any previously published or copyrighted material used herein. Cooperative Research Programs (CRP) grants permission to reproduce material in this publication for classroom and not-for-profit purposes. Permission is given with the understanding that none of the material will be used to imply TRB, AASHTO, FAA, FHWA, FTA, GHSA, NHTSA, or TDC endorsement of a particular product, method, or practice. It is expected that those reproducing the material in this document for educational and not-for-profit uses will give appropriate acknowledgment of the source of any reprinted or reproduced material. For other uses of the material, request permission from CRP. Cover photo: Forward-facing view of roadway captured from a vehicle collecting auto- mated pavement condition data. Pop-out image illustrates the crack identification results. Photo provided by the Utah Department of Transportation. Used with permission. NOTICE The report was reviewed by the technical panel and accepted for publication according to procedures established and overseen by the Transportation Research Board and approved by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The opinions and conclusions expressed or implied in this report are those of the researchers who performed the research and are not necessarily those of the Transportation Research Board; the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; the FHWA; or the program sponsors. The Transportation Research Board does not develop, issue, or publish standards or speci- fications. The Transportation Research Board manages applied research projects which provide the scientific foundation that may be used by Transportation Research Board sponsors, industry associations, or other organizations as the basis for revised practices, procedures, or specifications. The Transportation Research Board; the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; and the sponsors of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program do not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers’ names or logos appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the object of the report. NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM Systematic, well-designed, and implementable research is the most effective way to solve many problems facing state departments of transportation (DOTs) administrators and engineers. Often, highway problems are of local or regional interest and can best be studied by state DOTs individually or in cooperation with their state universities and others. However, the accelerating growth of highway transporta- tion results in increasingly complex problems of wide interest to high- way authorities. These problems are best studied through a coordinated program of cooperative research. Recognizing this need, the leadership of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) in 1962 ini- tiated an objective national highway research program using modern scientific techniques—the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP). NCHRP is supported on a continuing basis by funds from participating member states of AASHTO and receives the full cooperation and support of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), United States Department of Transportation, under Agree- ment No. 693JJ31950003. The Transportation Research Board (TRB) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine was requested by AASHTO to administer the research program because of TRB’s recognized objectivity and understanding of modern research practices. TRB is uniquely suited for this purpose for many reasons: TRB maintains an extensive com- mittee structure from which authorities on any highway transportation subject may be drawn; TRB possesses avenues of communications and cooperation with federal, state, and local governmental agencies, univer- sities, and industry; TRB’s relationship to the National Academies is an insurance of objectivity; and TRB maintains a full-time staff of special- ists in highway transportation matters to bring the findings of research directly to those in a position to use them. The program is developed on the basis of research needs iden- tified by chief administrators and other staff of the highway and transportation departments, by committees of AASHTO, and by the FHWA. Topics of the highest merit are selected by the AASHTO Special Committee on Research and Innovation (R&I), and each year R&I’s recommendations are proposed to the AASHTO Board of Direc- tors and the National Academies. Research projects to address these topics are defined by NCHRP, and qualified research agencies are selected from submitted proposals. Administration and surveillance of research contracts are the responsibilities of the National Academies and TRB. The needs for highway research are many, and NCHRP can make significant contributions to solving highway transportation problems of mutual concern to many responsible groups. The program, however, is intended to complement, rather than to substitute for or duplicate, other highway research programs.

e National Academy of Sciences was established in 1863 by an Act of Congress, signed by President Lincoln, as a private, non- governmental institution to advise the nation on issues related to science and technology. Members are elected by their peers for outstanding contributions to research. Dr. Marcia McNutt is president. e National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to bring the practices of engineering to advising the nation. Members are elected by their peers for extraordinary contributions to engineering. Dr. John L. Anderson is president. e National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine) was established in 1970 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to advise the nation on medical and health issues. Members are elected by their peers for distinguished contributions to medicine and health. Dr. Victor J. Dzau is president. e three Academies work together as the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation and conduct other activities to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions. e National Academies also encourage education and research, recognize outstanding contributions to knowledge, and increase public understanding in matters of science, engineering, and medicine. Learn more about the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine at www.nationalacademies.org. e Transportation Research Board is one of seven major programs of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. e mission of the Transportation Research Board is to provide leadership in transportation improvements and innovation through trusted, timely, impartial, and evidence-based information exchange, research, and advice regarding all modes of transportation. e Board’s varied activities annually engage about 8,000 engineers, scientists, and other transportation researchers and practitioners from the public and private sectors and academia, all of whom contribute their expertise in the public interest. e program is supported by state transportation departments, federal agencies including the component administrations of the U.S. Department of Transportation, and other organizations and individuals interested in the development of transportation. Learn more about the Transportation Research Board at www.TRB.org.

CRP STAFF FOR NCHRP SYNTHESIS 589 Christopher J. Hedges, Director, Cooperative Research Programs Lori L. Sundstrom, Deputy Director, Cooperative Research Programs Waseem Dekelbab, Associate Program Manager, Project Delivery, National Cooperative Highway Research Program Sid Mohan, Associate Program Manager, Implementation and Technology Transfer, National Cooperative Highway Research Program Melissa Welch-Ross, Senior Program Officer Stephanie L. Campbell-Chamberlain, Senior Program Assistant Natalie Barnes, Director of Publications Heather DiAngelis, Associate Director of Publications Janet M. McNaughton, Senior Editor Kathleen Mion, Assistant Editor NCHRP PROJECT 20-05 PANEL Joyce N. Taylor, Maine Department of Transportation, Augusta, ME (Chair) Melissa Batula, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Harrisburg, PA Anita K. Bush, Nevada Department of Transportation, Carson City, NV Joseph D. Crabtree, Kentucky Transportation Center (retired), Lexington, KY Mostafa Jamshidi, Nebraska Department of Transportation, Lincoln, NE Jessie X. Jones, Arkansas Department of Transportation, Little Rock, AR Brenda Moore, North Carolina Department of Transportation (retired), Cary, NC Cynthia J. Smith, Mississippi Department of Transportation, Jackson, MS Brian Worrel, Iowa Department of Transportation, Ames, IA Jack D. Jernigan, FHWA Liaison Jim T. McDonnell, AASHTO Liaison Stephen F. Maher, TRB Liaison TOPIC 52-07 PANEL Ryan Barrett, Kansas Department of Transportation, Topeka, KS Mark P. Gardner, Applied Pavement Technology, Inc., Round Rock, TX Charles R. Holzschuher III, Florida Department of Transportation, Gainesville, FL Maddalena Romano, New York City Department of Transportation, New York, NY Xiang Shu, California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), Sacramento, CA Linbing Wang, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA Andy Mergenmeier, FHWA Liaison Stephen F. Maher, TRB Liaison C O O P E R A T I V E R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M S

ABOUT THE NCHRP SYNTHESIS PROGRAM Highway administrators, engineers, and researchers often face problems for which information already exists, either in documented form or as undocumented experience and practice. This infor- mation may be fragmented, scattered, and unevaluated. As a consequence, full knowledge of what has been learned about a problem may not be brought to bear on its solution. Costly research findings may go unused, valuable experience may be overlooked, and due consideration may not be given to recommended practices for solving or alleviating the problem. There is information on nearly every subject of concern to highway administrators and engineers. Much of it derives from research or from the work of practitioners faced with problems in their day- to-day work. To provide a systematic means for assembling and evalu ating such useful information and to make it available to the entire highway community, the American Association of State High- way and Transportation Officials—through the mechanism of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program—authorized the Transportation Research Board to undertake a continuing study. This study, NCHRP Project 20-05, “Synthesis of Information Related to Highway Practices,” searches out and synthesizes useful knowledge from all available sources and prepares concise, documented reports on specific topics. Reports from this endeavor constitute an NCHRP report series, Synthesis of Highway Practice. This synthesis series reports on current knowledge and practice, in a compact format, without the detailed directions usually found in handbooks or design manuals. Each report in the series provides a compendium of the best knowledge available on those measures found to be the most successful in resolving specific problems. FOREWORD By Melissa Welch-Ross Staff Officer Transportation Research Board Pavement data collection technology has been evolving over the past few decades, and increasingly so in recent years. Automated pavement data collection allows agencies to collect data on pavement health, including cracking, rutting, faulting, and roughness, at highway speeds. This provides important information to better pavement decision-making. The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) and successive federal legisla- tion require state departments of transportation (DOTs) to report pavement data at 0.10-mile inter- vals and establish pavement performance targets. Many state transportation agencies have switched from manual methods of surveying pavement distress to automated and semiautomated collection of pavement data. While agencies gain more data, knowledge, and experience with automated and semiautomated collection of pavement data, this migration also brings new challenges. Those chal- lenges include data quality control, data analysis, and decision-making, in large part due to the rapid evolution of technology for collecting pavement data. The objectives of this synthesis are (1) to document the experiences, challenges, and state-of-the- practice solutions used by DOTs that are in the midst of transition or that have transitioned to auto- mated and semiautomated processes for collecting pavement data and (2) to summarize the data for state and federal reporting requirements (e.g., Transportation Asset Management Plans, MAP-21). Information for this study was gathered through a literature review, a survey of state DOTs, and follow-up interviews with selected agencies. Case examples provide additional information on how those agencies manage maintenance, repair, and rehabilitation issues. Linda M. Pierce, Nichols Consulting Engineers, CHTD, led the collection and synthesis of the information and writing of the report. The synthesis is an immediately useful document that records practices that were acceptable with the limitations of the knowledge available at the time of its prep- aration. As progress in research and practice continues, new knowledge will be added to that now at hand.

Note: Photographs, figures, and tables in this report may have been converted from color to grayscale for printing. The electronic version of the report (posted on the web at www.nap.edu) retains the color versions. 1 Summary 3 Chapter 1 Introduction 3 Background 3 Synthesis Objectives 4 Synthesis Scope and Approach 4 Report Organization 5 Chapter 2 Literature Review 5 Assessment of Pavement Condition 7 Transitioning from Manual to Automated Pavement Condition Surveys 10 National Reporting Requirements 21 Agency Data Quality Management Plans 34 Summary of Chapter 2 35 Chapter 3 State of the Practice 35 Pavement Condition Data Quality Management Plans 35 Survey Methods 48 Reporting Pavement Condition 54 Additional Comments and Suggestions 54 Summary of Chapter 3 57 Chapter 4 Case Examples 57 Transitioning to Automated Pavement Condition Surveys 61 PM2 Reporting 65 Agency Reports on Pavement Condition 67 Agency Use of Results of Pavement Condition Surveys 72 Summary of Chapter 4 73 Chapter 5 Summary of Findings 73 Overall Findings 75 Areas for Future Research 77 References 81 Glossary 84 Abbreviations and Acronyms 85 Appendix A Survey Questionnaire 90 Appendix B Agency Survey Responses C O N T E N T S