Prioritization of earth roads maintenance based on analytic hierarchy process

Abstract

This paper has as objectives to report the application of a method based on the Multi-criteria Decision Analysis – MCDA. It is a methodology in the process of prioritization of earth roads maintenance, taking into consideration a set of variables which are related to physical, climatic, traffic, management and social aspects and that influence the functioning of those roads. The method for prioritization applies the Analytic Hierarchy Process – AHP through interviews with engineering professionals who are specialized in the conception and analysis of highway projects and that were divided into five groups according to their professional areas: a group of civil servants, a group of consultants, a group of professors, a group of Masters in Transportation Engineering and a group of Master degree students. In order to help in the application of the AHP, the software Expert Choice was used to make the calculation of the logical consistency of the comparison matrices more easily and indicated through a sensibility analysis in a real case, corresponding to the non-bituminous roads in the municipal district of Aquiraz, Ceará, in the northeast region of Brazil.