Pavement Remaining Service Interval: A Logical Replacement to Remaining Service Life Concept

Abstract

The process of providing and managing a pavement network requires a plethora of decisions to be made. At the heart of those decisions is the prediction of future construction events, but many issues exist with the current remaining service life (RSL) terminology that confuse, confound, and complicate proper interpretation, interagency data exchange, and use. The major source of ambiguity with RSL is the use of the term "life" to represent different points in the construction time-line. There could be up to four different types of future construction events on which a RSL definition could be based, depending on the condition of the pavement, and it is impossible for a single number called RSL to properly describe all of these future construction events. The recommended path to consistency involves adopting terminology of time remaining until a defined construction treatment is required. RSL is replaced by "Remaining Service Interval" or "RSI" This terminology has the ability to unify the outcome of different approaches for determining needs by focusing on when and what treatments are needed, and the service interruption created. This paper explains the RSI concept and outlines the validation efforts using State Highway Agencies and the Pavement Health Track analysis tool at the national level. It also details how RSI can contribute to the requirements of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) legislation.