The way forward for pavement performance indicators across Europe COST Action 354 Performance Indicators for Road Pavements Final Report

Abstract

The main objective of the COST Action 354 “Performance Indicators for Road Pavements” was the definition of uniform European performance indicators for road pavements taking the needs of road users and road operators into account. A quantitative assessment of performance indicators provides guidance regarding present and future needs in road pavement design and maintenance at both the national and the European levels. Performance indicators are defined for different types of pavement structures and road categories. In a first step several single performance indicators describing the characteristic of the road pavement condition are assessed. The next step is the grouping of these single performance indicators or indices into representative combined performance indices as • Functional performance indices (demands made on road pavements by road users); • Structural performance indices (structural demands to be met by the road pavement); • Environmental performance indices (demands made on road pavements from an environmental perspective). Finally, based on the combined performance indices a global (general) performance index is defined for describing the overall condition of the road pavements, which can be used for general optimization procedures. Recommendations for the application of the indices developed are given taking into account the various random conditions given at the users. A spreadsheet toll was developed as well, which supports the decisions made by the road administrations. This final report summarises the results of the action. It also contains also a CD-ROM with all the detailed reports of the working groups and the other deliverables.