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Don’t Let Pavement Management Fall Through the Cracks

Pavement Technology Solutions Help You Manage a Large, Often Overlooked Asset

Pavement is a considerable asset at logistics facilities. Unfortunately, it is an asset that is routinely neglected. Heavy truck traffic, severe weather, de-icing chemicals, snowplows, and lack of maintenance add substantial strain on the pavement and can seriously affect its longevity. As a result, owners and operators pay for costly replacements and are subjected to slowdowns in facility operations during reconstruction activities. So, what is our industry’s response to this challenge, and what are some of the best practices for managing pavement assets?

Studies show that the successful long-term performance of pavement can be directly correlated to having a comprehensive management plan. After completing exhaustive market research, Terracon has developed Pavement Technology Solutions that leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital data collection to provide thorough assessments of pavement conditions. This process empowers our professionals and partners with data to better strategize and plan timely maintenance and rehabilitation activities. As a result, we can efficiently budget and streamline expenditures, while improving the pavement condition in the future.

Planning for future pavement success

A pavement condition index (PCI) allows us to quantify existing pavement distresses and to benchmark pavement conditions across multiple facilities throughout the lifecycle of your assets. A PCI summarizes the type, severity, and extent of pavement issues such as potholes and alligator cracking, helping to prioritize repair and preventive maintenance dollars where most needed.

Once the PCI is determined, our pavement experts can help by providing you short- and long-term strategies for efficient pavement maintenance allowing you to farther stretch you capital expenditures. A pavement management plan can help you set your future maintenance budgets while greatly reducing the risk of unexpected major repairs or replacement.

Having a team of professionals to establish and manage a cadence for assessing your entire portfolio of facilities, then providing guidance and solutions along the way, is critical to maximize and asset life and your investments.

Speed at every step of the pavement management process

Speed is an essential component in logistics operations, and we bring that urgency to our Pavement Technology Solutions services. Our data collection process utilizes vehicle-mounted cameras to gather pavement information rapidly, safely, and efficiently. We then use AI to convert that data into mosaic imagery for real-time visual documentation of pavement conditions, to help ensure  repeatability and remove human bias. We can create a repository of technical data and visual documentation readily available to showcase the historical evolution of your pavement.

Ask Yourself…

General:
Does your company currently have a strategic plan to manage pavement assets and understands the total area of pavement throughout your portfolio of properties?

Budgeting:
What does your annual CapEx spend for pavement rehabilitation, repairs, and maintenance entail and how is it currently allocated?

Design:
Do you have a professional engineering team engaged in managing your entire portfolio of facilities and a process to produce bid documents consistently and efficiently for construction?

Operations:
How often do poor pavement conditions impact productivity at your facilities?

Our nationwide network of engineering professionals and laboratories gives us the resources to make recommendations on any needed pavement rehabilitation, repairs, and maintenance at the pace of your business; we can also provide any assistance needed to bid and award work to qualified pavement contractors. Together, we can create a plan, reduce uncertainty and poor pavement conditions and make life easier!

Andrea Blanchette, P.E. is a pavement engineer and group manager for Terracon’s Minneapolis office. Andrea has nearly 12 years of experience in the pavements, pavement forensics, and construction materials industries. She has assisted the private sector as well as municipalities including cities, counties, and townships with pavement management plans intended to improve the network condition through pavement maintenance and preservation techniques.

Brad Urhahn, P.E. is a senior national account manager in the Logistics sector for Terracon. Brad has more than 30 years’ experience in design and construction management associated with big box retail, distribution centers, and power transmission and distribution.