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MTC's Secret Weapon: Pavement Software

Nearly 20 years ago, MTC studied the state of the Bay Area's streets and roads and concluded that they were in dire straits. In response to this finding, MTC launched its Pavement Management System (PMS) -- a computer-assisted program that diagnoses pavement condition, determines the most cost-effective schedule of maintenance and repair, and provides a budget analysis that can help convince local governments to allocate available money in a timely fashion. Studies have found that if streets and roads are properly maintained, the total cost for maintenance is roughly 20 percent of the expenditure that would be required if the pavement were allowed to fail before repairing.

Today, 91 cities and eight counties in the Bay Area -- or 90 percent of the region's jurisdictions -- subscribe to MTC's PMS, a success rate MTC Senior Planner and PMS manager Wes Wells describes as "pretty remarkable." Another 130 cities, counties, parks, forests and other public jurisdictions outside of the region have signed on as well.

In the years since MTC's PMS got under way, not only has the number of users increased, but the technology has improved significantly. When combined with a geographic information system viewer, the software (see "In Print and Online") can project pavement conditions for a city's street network five years into the future, plot them on a map and display the impacts of alternative repair strategies -- all in a matter of minutes, according to Wells.

The software also can coordinate the city's street repair and maintenance schedule with requests from utilities to dig trenches for laying pipes and cables, an issue MTC recently tackled in its Guide to the Legal Aspects of Trench Cuts.

Recently, MTC inaugurated a Pavement Management Technical Assistance Program (P-designed to help cities and counties with less than 150 miles of roadway to either start up or maintain a PMS program. Many smaller jurisdictions cannot afford the initial cost and staff time needed or lack the necessary experience to keep the program running.

Supported by federal Surface Transportation Program (STP) moneys, P-TAP has helped nearly 60 local jurisdictions since getting under way last fall. STP funding covers 88 percent of the moneys needed, with the remaining 12 percent paid directly by the jurisdictions. MTC has set aside $1.7 million in STP funding for the next three fiscal years, a level that will allow the program to expand to include medium-sized jurisdictions (those with between 150 and 250 centerline miles of roadway).

One of the first cities in the Bay Area to sign on with MTC's PMS program back in the 1980s was Fremont. The city's street maintenance superintendent, John Barron, has found the program invaluable. "With MTC's PMS, I can demonstrate the need for funding against competing interests that come before the city council," he said. "It is a logical, reasonable system that gives you real direction -- you know just how much you need to spend."
-- Réka Goode

For More Information.... MTC's new Pothole Report lays out the magnitude of the pavement maintenance crisis, its causes and possible remedies. To order, contact the agency library:
e-mail library@mtc.ca.gov
fax 510.817.5932
phone 510.817.5836

Contents

• Cover Story:
  • A Tunnel Runs Through It:
    Does the Caldecott need a fourth bore?
• Special Report on Local Streets And Roads:
  • Sacramento puts spotlight on potholes
  • MTC software is hard-hitting weapon
• News Briefs:
  • Morales takes helm at Caltrans
  • Feds present check to innovative facility for disabled community
• In Print and Online:
  • Funding guide updated for new millennium
  • Pavement management resources