Exploratory State-Level Empirical Assessment of Pavement Performance

Abstract

This study uses aggregate state-level data from 1999 to 2006 in the United States to examine the relationships among pavement performance (pavement roughness) and preservation expenditure, dominant surface geology, and climate. To account for possible random variations in parameters across geographic locations and time periods, a random-parameters logit (mixed logit) model was used. The analysis was carried out separately for roads in different functional classifications and considered the effect that a variety of variables had on the proportion of pavements in each state that are in one of the four International Roughness Index categories (excellent, good, fair, poor) defined by the Federal Highway Administration. The results of the analysis showed the extent to which increased pavement preservation spending yields increased pavement performance and the nature of this relationship for different base pavement-performance conditions and different regions of climate and surface geology.