Asset management for Virginia highways and roads

The maintenance of pavements, structures and bridges, and other transportation assets has become a challenge for the Virginia department of transportation (VDOT). These challenges include effective allocation of financial resources, communication improvement between upper and lower level maintenance entities in the department, ability to perform cross-asset selection, and incorporation of risk analysis in the decision making process. The center for risk management of engineering systems and the project team have developed a risk assessment and management framework to address these problems. This new methodology, which uses condition (lifetime remaining) and cost as indexes of performance, would allow VDOT to target short-term and long-term goals, and to coordinate for maintenance activities. Indeed, the framework developed will help the department maintain their transportation assets in a more efficient manner and prevent unforeseen failures.