We are excited to announce that our agency has been awarded a grant from the Technology Services Board to modernize pavement rating technology for all 39 of Washington's counties at no additional cost to them.
timely management reduces the costs of roads over their lifetime.
In order to effectively manage the county road transportation system, counties systematically analyze pavement life cycles and pavement rating to determine timing of pavement preservation activities, cost-effective rehabilitation types, and rehabilitation budgets - an especially critical strategy in a time of inadequate funding. Additionally, Washington State counties are required to rate all arterial and collector roads and report the data to our agency annually in the road log in order to receive state preservation funds.
Historical Background
Historically, a methodology developed by WSDOT and the University of Washington, Pavement Structural Condition (PSC), has been used in Washington State to calculate the rating conditions of roads. However, PSC is limited in scope and based on only 4 of the 20 distress categories; the exclusion of so many road defects makes comparing and forecasting statewide network conditions and determining projects with greatest impact to overall network condition challenging. Ultimately, it is better suited to high traffic freeways and does not provide a fair representation of county roads.
Alternative Options
Currently, we are the only state in the nation using PSC. Outside of Washington, the Pavement Condition Index (PCI) is a widely recognized, industry standard approach that has been used for 25 years on federal, state, county and city levels. It uses all 20 metrics of pavement distress and would allow us to better integrate internally with our existing technology and externally with vendors and developers.
CRAB's Role
Our agency's mission is to ensure the success and accountability of all of Washington's county road departments. As a part of our multi-faceted role, we provide standards of good practice pertaining to the development and effective use of uniform and efficient transportation-related IT resources. To ensure all 39 counties in Washington have access to technology capable of collecting and analyzing PCI, our agency began exploring options. Mike Clark, our Road System Inventory Manager, has championed this transition and has been a driving force in moving the initiative forward.
We researched and identified PAVER, a PCI-based pavement maintenance management system originally created by the US Department of Defense as the best option for Washington's counties. It was selected for its mobile and GIS capable features, potential for industry partnerships and continued development, support services and improved ROI on every level.
The Search for Funding
We presented our proposal for this proven, low cost and low risk technology to a competitive grant program through the Technology Services Board Innovation and Modernization Fund (IMF) this spring. The newly created program allows state agencies to address emergent legacy-systems issues or adopt innovative technology to meet critical business needs.
We are pleased the Board recognized the multiple benefits this solution would provide to all taxpayers and transportation system users in the state. We were the #1 of 10 recommended projects and received a $50,000 grant that will allow us to purchase one PAVER license for each county as well as consultant support hours for our agency's implementation process. In the future, these services will guide integration with GIS-Mo and provide our staff with training and support for PAVER.
The Future of Pavement Management for Counties
We will purchase the licenses and begin rolling out later this year. Going forward, CRAB will cover the costs of the annual licenses for all 39 counties out of the County Arterial Preservation Account (CAPA) Operating Budget. Stay tuned for more information in the months ahead!
