More than half of all paved roads show some form of distress, and one untreated defect rarely stays isolated. This guide covers how pavement damage develops, what it costs to defer, and how a PCI-based approach picks the right treatment at the right time.
What Is Inside
- What pavement damage is, through each layer from wearing course to sub-base
- The 500 billion dollar annual cost of deferred maintenance
- How AI scores PCI across a whole network from one survey
- A treatment matrix by PCI range, from preventive seal to reconstruction
What Causes It
- Repeated heavy axle loads compressing and deforming the surface
- Structural fatigue weakening the base until the surface loses support
- Environmental ageing from heat and moisture cycles causing raveling
- Poor drainage and weak sub-grade accelerating every other distress
How AI Finds It
- Collect: dashcam on any vehicle or phone, GPS-tagged, no road closures
- Detect: 65+ defect types classified and severity-scored automatically
- Locate: exact GPS and chainage per defect, with area measurement
- Deliver: network condition report with PCI scores and severity maps
Condition and What To Do
- Good, PCI 85 to 100: routine monitoring, review in 12 months
- Fair, PCI 55 to 84: preventive treatment such as seal coat or crack seal, within 6 months
- Poor, PCI 25 to 54: structural overlay or mill and overlay, within 60 days
- Failed, PCI 0 to 24: full-depth reconstruction, immediate
Who It Is For
- Road authorities and highway agencies
- Pavement management and asset teams
- Consultants preparing maintenance programmes
Preventive treatment on fair-condition pavement costs a fraction of the reconstruction it becomes once the road has failed.
