Joint optimization of pavement design, resurfacing and maintenance strategies with history-dependent deterioration models

The subject of this paper is the joint optimization of pavement design, maintenance and resurfacing (M&R) strategies. This problem is solved for continuous pavement state, continuous time, infinite planning horizon and non-Markovian (history-dependent) pavement deterioration model. This paper presents a mathematical formulation of the joint optimization problem to minimize the total discounted lifecycle costs, using a combination of analytical and numerical tools. The lifecycle costs include both user costs and agency (construction, resurfacing and maintenance) costs. This paper shows that resurfacing schedule converges to a steady state after a few resurfacing cycles. The research results should be of use to developing countries in the process of expanding their highway networks facing multiple constraints. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.