2021 - Australia - Prolonging the Life of Road Assets Under Increasing Demand: A Framework and Tools for Informing the Development and Justification of Asset Preservation and Renewal

This report provides an evaluation framework, practices and supporting tools for evaluating road preservation and renewal treatment options for predominantly sprayed seal flexible pavements. It includes a compilation of case studies based on a pavement lifecycle costing analysis which draws on road agency pavement treatment practices and well-established economic principles. The reported case studies have demonstrated the optimum selection of asset preservation, renewal strategies and treatments used to prolong pavement life, including:

• the value of timely intervention

• where different levels of service are justifiable

• the need to understand the true treatment demand, including whether a treatment is required for functional reasons or to provide additional structural capacity

• the importance of accounting for all costs, including both routine and heavy repairs, to allow a true comparison to be made

• the benefits derived from a selection of safety-related treatments often applied in conjunction with preservation and renewal work.

The findings from the case studies and the methods and tools provided can aid practitioners in preparing their own cases and justifications and in ‘selling the message’ of appropriate asset preservation and improvement strategies to executives.