Wall and Geotechnical Asset Management Implementation at the Colorado Department of Transportation

Abstract

The Colorado Department of Transportation (DOT) has successfully initiated risk-based asset management programs for retaining walls, sound walls, and geotechnical assets. This paper reviews the development and status of programs for walls and other assets described as geotechnical hazards by the Colorado DOT. The formulation of these programs was completed in less than a year and led to long-term funding plans that were approved by department consensus. The programs were designed to protect the safety of the traveling public, improve mobility, and reduce maintenance expenditures by identifying deficiencies and evaluating performance improvement through corrective actions. The asset management plans were developed from inventory data compiled from existing department records and geographic information systems. For the retaining and sound wall assets, the data were integrated with the Colorado DOT bridge management and national bridge inventory system databases. The asset management programs corresponded with performance targets of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act, and the analysis sought to obtain the greatest reduction in risk over the remaining life cycle. Multiple inspection and analysis levels varied the amount of data collected to direct resources toward assets with higher risk. The inventory, inspection, and management of these assets were performed with handheld, web-based data collection applications on mobile devices. The applications collected, geospatially located, analyzed, and organized inspection data and thus increased the efficiency of the tasks. The applications also had risk-based escalation routines and notification processes for critical situations identified by field inspectors.