Road network pavement maintenance optimisation using the HDM-4 pavement performance prediction models

This paper presents a new maintenance optimisation system (MOS), called GENEPAV-HDM4, which was developed to integrate the pavement management system (PMS) of the municipality of Viseu (Portugal). At the same time, it was also developed for possible application to other existing PMS that need an upgrade due to recent Portuguese legislation. This is the case of the PMS used by the main Portuguese concessionaire Estradas de Portugal, SA. Currently, the MOS of this PMS uses a global deterministic pavement performance prediction model which makes part of the AASHTO flexible pavement design method. The new MOS (GENEPAV-HDM4) uses a similar optimisation model but the AASHTO pavement performance prediction model was substituted by the highway development and management (HDM-4) pavement performance prediction models to take into account recent Portuguese legislation. The results obtained by the application of the new MOS to the main road network of Viseu clearly indicate that it is a valuable addition to the road engineer's toolbox.