An integer linear programming approach for pavement maintenance and rehabilitation optimization

Abstract

A highway in poor conditions can raise transportation costs. Due to budgetary constraints, pavement maintenance programming is considered a difficult decision-making problem. In this work we propose a novel mathematical model and a different variant of the pavement maintenance management problem, solved with integer linear programming. The novelty of this approach is the use of the Pavement Surface Rating as the condition indicator, along with a proposed conversion strategy between most used performance indices. Additionally, we propose a simpler and broader deterioration model, when compared to existent ones, using a table system. This renders the model to be solved easily, allowing it to be implemented worldwide, given its generic characteristics. Many computational experiments were performed, both on artificial benchmark instances and on a real-world case study. The proposed model is shown to obtain optimal solutions in short computational times, and it is able to solve much larger instances than the ones found in the literature.