Road Deterioration Research Articles

A Deep Learning Approach for Real Time Road Damage Detection via Image Processing

Due to the use of subpar building materials in the construction of road drainage systems, traffic accident identification and prevention are becoming increasingly tough and challenging issues in India. The aforementioned issues lead to early road deterioration and potholes, which result in accidents. An estimated 4,64,910 incidents occur in India annually, according to a report published by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways' transport research wing in New Delhi. This study suggested a deep learning-based approach that uses photos to identify potholes early, lowering the risk of an accident. Inception-V2, Faster Region-based Convolutional Neural Network (F-RCNN), and Transfer Learning serve as the fundamental foundations for this model.There are fewer pothole recognition models that just use machine learning methods to detect potholes, but several models combine machine learning methods with accelerometer data (without the need for images). The study's results show that our proposed model outperforms other pothole detecting techniques currently in use.

Legal Study on the Oversight of Overloaded Motor Vehicles: Efforts to Protect Road Safety and Infrastructure

The oversight of motor vehicles exceeding weight limits is critical in safeguarding road safety and protecting infrastructure from premature damage. Overloaded vehicles are a common issue, contributing significantly to accidents and accelerated road deterioration, which incurs high repair costs and disrupts public transport and logistics. This study examines the legal frameworks and regulatory practices aimed at controlling vehicle overloading in Indonesia. Utilizing a normative juridical approach, the research reviews pertinent laws, regulations, and real-world cases involving load limit violations to gain insights into the effectiveness of existing policies. Findings reveal that while stringent load regulations are in place, enforcement remains inconsistent due to various limitations, including outdated monitoring technology, insufficient human resources, and challenges in coordinating between regulatory agencies. The research identifies critical obstacles in the current oversight mechanisms, such as a lack of real-time data collection and limited roadside weighing facilities, which hinder comprehensive monitoring. Furthermore, penalties for overloading are often inadequate to deter repeat violations. Based on these findings, this study recommends a multi-faceted approach to strengthen vehicle load regulation enforcement. Suggested improvements include upgrading monitoring technology, such as installing automatic weigh-in-motion systems, increasing the frequency and coverage of roadside inspections, and implementing more severe penalties to enhance deterrence. Additionally, the study emphasizes the need for inter-agency coordination and public awareness campaigns to foster compliance among vehicle operators. Through these initiatives, Indonesia can better protect its roadways, ensuring both road safety for all users and the long-term sustainability of its infrastructure.

Performance of the polyurethane foam injection technique for road maintenance applications

Road infrastructure plays an important role in strengthening transportation and driving the economic advancement of countries. However, the increasing traffic volume has accelerated road deterioration, particularly at critical points like bridge-road junctions. Traditional repair methods involving demolition and reconstruction lead to extended closures and high costs. This study explores the polyurethane (PU) foam injection technique as an alternative solution, which can reduce both repair time and costs. The research evaluates the application of PU foam in various road projects across Thailand, highlighting its ability to repair pavement surfaces and structures, even in severely damaged areas. Despite its advantages, the use of PU foam faces challenges due to a lack of standardized quality control. This paper proposes a set of working guidelines for PU foam injection, aimed at key stakeholders such as the Department of Highways, the Department of Rural Roads, and the Department of Local Administration. The findings underline the importance of establishing standardized methods to ensure the long-term effectiveness of PU foam in road maintenance. Future research should focus on refining these guidelines for diverse road conditions to support the sustainable development of national transportation infrastructure.

Development of Pavement Deterioration Models Using Markov Chain Process

A common phenomenon in developing countries is that the function of the pavement in the road network will experience structural damage before the completion of life is reached, and the uncertainty of pavement damage is difficult to predict. Planning for maintenance treatment depends on the accuracy of predicting future pavement performance and observing current conditions. This study aims to apply the Markovian probability operational research process to develop a decision support system predicting future pavement conditions. Furthermore, it determines policies and effectiveness in managing and maintaining roads. A standard approach that can be used by observing the history of pavement damage from year to year is to estimate the transition probability as a Markovian-based performance prediction model. The results show that the application of the model is quite optimal, changes in pavement conditions after repair can be easily compared with an increase in good condition, reaching 92.8%. Routinely and consistently handling road deterioration will give favorable results regarding pavement condition value. This will ease in the management of the road network and the accomplishment of the optimal maintenance and repair policies. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-2024-010-09-012 Full Text: PDF

Pothole detection and International Roughness Index (IRI) calculation using ATVs for road monitoring

The accelerated deterioration of roads is conditioned by parameters such as climate change, poor construction, and heavy vehicle traffic. Two relevant measures to monitor the condition of a road are the International Roughness Index (IRI) and the number of functional failures in a segment, mainly potholes, since they are associated with higher risks such as accidents or damage to vehicle mechanics. In the state of the art, pothole detection or International Roughness Index (IRI) calculation algorithms are proposed, but they use vehicles designed to produce less vibration and use phones that decrease the performance of the embedded sensors. In addition, some works propose complex algorithms of higher computational load that leads to use more hardware and power consumption. In this context, the present work aims to monitor the condition of a road through low-cost dedicated sensors implemented in an urban patrolling all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), where energy consumption is optimized using low-complexity signal processing techniques for noise reduction and detection algorithms. The results show an average accuracy of 90.5% in the detection of potholes, a relative error of 8.41% in the calculation of the International Roughness Index (IRI) and an average reduction of 65.4% in the monitoring time.

Comparison of Compressive Strength Among 5 Different Brands of Cement Used in Construction of Road in Nepal

In Nepal, road transportation is essential but often hindered by the rapid deterioration of bituminous roads during the rainy season. To address this issue, this research focused on evaluating the strength of M20 grade concrete from five different Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC-43) brands available in Nepal: Brands A, B, C, D, and E. A series of comprehensive tests such as compressive strength tests, sieve analysis, Los Angeles Abrasion tests and Aggregate Impact Value test. The compressive strength tests revealed significant variations among the cement brands. For instance, at 7 days, the highest compressive strength observed was 28.08 N/mm² from Brand A, while the lowest was 13.10 N/mm² from Brand C. At 28 days, the highest strength recorded was 33.63 N/mm² from Brand D, and the lowest was 19.41 N/mm² from Brand C. These discrepancies highlight the need for better quality control and accurate labeling. By analyzing the performance of each cement brand, we aim to help contractors and project managers choose the best materials for building more durable reinforced concrete roads. Our findings suggest that reinforced concrete roads could be a more reliable and low-maintenance solution, especially suited for Nepal's challenging terrain and climate. We recommend further research to explore a wider range of cement brands and improve testing standards to ensure better road construction practices in Nepal.

The impact of road environments on rural periodic market travel satisfaction: a heterogeneity analysis of travel modes.

Travel satisfaction as experienced by rural residents is closely related to personal physical and mental health, as well as rural economic conditions. An improved rural road environment can be expected to enhance villagers' satisfaction with regards to visits to markets, but to date this has not been established empirically. In this study, a questionnaire was designed to obtain local residents' evaluations of road environment characteristics for periodic market travel. And we use an Oprobit regression model and Importance-Performance Map Analysis (IPMA) to explore the heterogeneity of the 14 key elements of the "home-to-market" road environment impact on villagers' satisfaction under different modes of travel. The results of the study reveal that villagers expressed dissatisfaction with the current lack of sidewalks and non-motorized paths, and except for road traffic disturbances and road deterioration, which did not significantly affect mode of travel, other factors proved significant. Significantly, bus services are associated with a significant positive effect on walking, non-motorized and bus travel satisfaction, while distance travel also affects walking, non-motorized and motorized travel satisfaction. It is worth noting that greening and service facilities negatively affect motorized travel satisfaction. In summary, road width, sidewalks, bus service, and road deterioration, are among the elements most in need of urgent improvement for all modes of travel. The characteristics of the road environment that influence satisfaction with travel to the periodic market vary by travel mode, and this study is hoped to provide data support and optimization recommendations for the improvement of the rural road environment in China and other countries.

Mutual impacts of changing climate and flexible pavement performance considering resilience and sustainable aspects

Roads play a vital role in transportation systems, and their construction and maintenance expenses are high. Those reasons make crucial the examination of factors that accelerate road deterioration and those factors' negative impacts on societies. Climatic-related elements, especially temperature and precipitation, significantly affect the quality and lifespans of roads. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has reported that increasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is causing changes in climate and that the rate of change has accelerated during the past several decades. To assess the impacts of changing climatic parameters on flexible-pavement performance, this study used 32 climate models to evaluate the performance of interstate, primary, and secondary roads across 11 diverse locations with varying traffic and climatic conditions. The study's findings reveal that changing climate exacerbates pavement distresses, leading to reduced pavement lifespans and increased numbers of reconstruction projects, which in turn raise demands for materials and equipment and contribute to higher GHG emissions. The effects of changing climate and changing climate's associated economic and environmental costs make the application of various engineering solutions to enhance pavement resilience essential, as described in this paper, in the absence of comprehensive emissions reduction strategies.

Understanding the pavement project failures in Pakistan: identifying causes and solutions

Pavement deterioration is a major issue in Pakistan's road and highway infrastructure. The current study attempts to clarify the most important factors of road degradation in Pakistan using a questionnaire prepared and distributed to engineers, contractors, architects, surveyors, and project managers involved in road development and upkeep. The study had 147 replies. This data was collected from employees from various road construction sectors in Pakistan. Convenience sampling, a sort of non-probability sampling, is used for data gathering due to time and resource constraints. The data were analysed through SPSS and Microsoft Excel. The responses were gathered using a 10-point Likert scale. The standard (inadequate density in surface or sub-base) has the maximum rank of 9.1, while the lowest factor (use of naturally smooth uncrushed aggregate) is 2.0. Furthermore, the causes of deterioration were reorganised into eight consistent groups of pertinent causes. The first group (effect of traffic load and volume) has a severity level of 6.5, while the last group (effect of bond between layers) ranks 3.22 in group comparison. The study is helpful in identifying the causes of road deterioration in Pakistan and avoiding or mitigating their effects during design, construction, and maintenance through operation.

How much road deterioration do heavy vehicles cause on Australia’s sealed flexible pavements?

ABSTRACT An evidence-based estimate of the load-related road deterioration due to heavy vehicles on the road network is needed for underpinning heavy vehicle road user charges on Australia’s arterial roads. A network level model for estimating the percentage (%) load-related road deterioration was developed for typical sealed unbound pavements in Australia’s sealed road network. This model was based on a network level roughness deterioration model using observational data from long-term pavement performance (LTPP) and long-term pavement performance maintenance (LTPPM) sites and accelerated loading facility (ALF) experimental data. The model estimates that the % load-related road deterioration varied with changes to the traffic load, pavement strength and an environmental coefficient. This outcome also implies that the roughness deterioration model for sealed granular pavements is likely to be more appropriate for predicting Australia’s sealed granular pavement deterioration than past internationally based roughness deterioration models which were originally based on the deterioration of asphalt bound pavements.

Aggregate gradation effect on the mechanical properties of asphalt mixtures

The issue of road deterioration in Mosul, Iraq, has become a matter of concern for local communities. The instability of road surfaces under the stress of vehicular traffic necessitates significant intervention to mitigate and manage this problem. This study has developed an asphalt mixture by following the Bailey method for aggregate gradation. The impact of aggregate gradation on the mechanical properties of the asphalt mixture was thoroughly analysed. Additionally, two separate mixtures were conducted using the conventional Marshall method to assess indirect tensile strength, Marshall properties, and susceptibility to moisture damage. The primary objective of this research is to design an aggregate structure that acts as a robust unit capable of withstanding heavy loads, repeated stresses, and high temperatures. The findings of the study indicate that the asphalt mixture created using the Bailey method exhibited superior stability with values of 13.6 kN, compared to the two traditional mixtures (11.8 kN, 9.2 kN), and. However, it is worth noting that the flow values also indicated a relative preference for the Bailey method, with values of and 3.1 mm, compared with 3.85 mm and 3.2 mm of the traditional mixtures. The results of Tensile strength ratio further corroborated the efficacy of Bailey’s technique, with outcomes of 85.1 %, thus enhancing the applicability of this method. This observation is attributed to the concept of granular interlocking, which forms the foundation of the Bailey method.

Pothole detection in the woods: a deep learning approach for forest road surface monitoring with dashcams

ABSTRACT Sustainable forest management systems require operational measures to preserve the functional design of forest roads. Frequent road data collection and analysis are essential to support target-oriented and efficient maintenance planning and operations. This study demonstrates an automated solution for monitoring forest road surface deterioration using consumer-grade optical sensors. A YOLOv5 model with StrongSORT tracking was adapted and trained to detect and track potholes in the videos captured by vehicle-mounted cameras. For model training, datasets recorded in diverse geographical regions under different weather conditions were used. The model shows a detection and tracking performance of up to a precision and recall level of 0.79 and 0.58, respectively, with 0.70 mean average precision at an intersection over union (IoU) of at least 0.5. We applied the trained model to a forest road in southern Norway, recorded with a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)−fitted dashcam. GNSS-delivered geographical coordinates at 10 Hz rate were used to geolocate the detected potholes. The geolocation performance over this exemple road stretch of 1 km exhibited a root mean square deviation of about 9.7 m compared to OpenStreetMap. Finally, an exemple road deterioration map was compiled, which can be used for scheduling road maintenance operations.

A Comparative Study of the Effect of Moisture Susceptibility on Polyethylene Terephthalate–Modified Asphalt Mixes under Different Regulatory Procedures

Water damage is one of the main causes of road deterioration during its lifespan, leading to a decrease in the structural and functional qualities of the road surface. Moreover, the management and disposal of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles at the end of their lifecycle are becoming increasingly complex challenges. Hence, this study investigates the feasibility of incorporating crushed PET bottles into the production of asphalt mixtures, considering different PET quantities (6%, 10%, 14%, 18%, and 22%) and two incorporation processes in the mixture design (dry process and modified dry process). PET-modified mixtures‘ volumetric properties, Marshall parameters, and moisture susceptibility characteristics were evaluated and compared with PET-free asphalt mixtures. The results indicated that PET content significantly influences the properties being assessed, and the modified dry process yields a higher resistance to moisture susceptibility. Finally, the obtained TSR (tensile strength ratio) results based on European standards are compared with those obtained using American standards, in an aim to comprehend and assess the testing methods, result reliability, and applicability.

Impact of Heavy Vehicle Axle Overload and Axle Configuration on Road Damage in Afghanistan

Aim: This study aimed to determine the percentage of heavy vehicles, overloaded vehicles, and heaviest vehicle that leads to deterioration of asphalt roads. Furthermore, the study aimed to assess the impact of ESALs and axle configuration on asphalt thickness and subgrade.
 Methods: This research used quantitative truck traffic data collected for three months in the Laghman WIM (Weigh in Motion) station located on the Kabul Torkham National Highway. Observed axle loads and GVW (Gross Vehicle Weight) data collected from April/ 10/2022, up to June/7/2022 average daily truck traffic of 73895 was estimated axle loads converted to the standard axle ESALs (Equivalent Single Axle Loads).
 Results: The percentage of heavy overweight vehicles is 13% while the heaviest vehicle is T2-Bedford truck vehicles at 20.17%. The T2 Bedford truck percentage was 42.17% in overall volume; this truck was overloaded 20.17%, compared to the general trend of Ministry of Public Works (MoPW), the T3 Hino truck contribution was 1.24% in total volume and 18.64% was overloaded, the ST112 semi-trailer contributed 3.02% in total volume, and 8.52% were overloaded. The ST113 5-axle and TT123 6-axle trailers percentile in entire volume was 9.6 % and 40.85% whereas, the overloading degree for these heavy vehicles was 2.29% and 6.72% respectively.
 Conclusion: Overloading percentage is 13% while, T2 Truck is the heaviest vehicle The variation of ESALs and axle configuration on asphalt thickness and subgrade modulus illustrates the higher thickness of asphalt decreases the damage to asphalt roads.
 Recommendations: Afghanistan Weigh-in-Motion stations need professional employees, internet facilities, electricity, and proper databases to record the data. By applying tight legislation and fines overloading will be minimized. Researchers may also research heavy vehicle tires' impact on road damage. Furthermore, it needs to determine the level of fatigue cracking and rutting failures by overloading.

ASSESSMENTS OF THE GRAVEL ROAD DETERIORATION HAVING LACK OF MAINTENANCE: CASE STUDY IN JIMMA ZONE

Gravel roads deterioration with absence of maintenance is one of the serious issue and common problem in the world. It’s majorly affected by deterioration which manifests as removing from gravel road materials with the major factors such as traffic volume and environmental conditions. Jimma zone might have been a standout amongst those ranges influenced toward the issue for gravel road having lack of maintenances. In order to achieve the objective of this study, the researchers were used questionnaire survey method. The existing road sections having lack of maintenance on a given time have been identified. Then the representative road (Sarbo-Busa, Saka-Ushane and Buxure-Sanxama) and questionnaire surveys samples have been selected by non-probabilistic purposive and systematic sampling respectively. The questionnaire’s survey was focused on identifying the causes of absence of maintenance and pre-conditions considered. questionnaire survey was analyzed by RII. The absence of maintenance was occurred due to lack of budget fund, poor management, lack of skilled manpower, lack of good material quality, lack of regular inspections, poor working environments. The pre-conditions considered while maintaining the gravel roads are: Cost of maintenance, class as the road, maintenance schedule, skilled manpower, topography, number of road users, traffic volume, and economic standards of the society and location of the road from the center. In Jimma zone the deterioration of gravel roads have been increasing with the absence of maintenance time.

Potential Additives in Natural Rubber-Modified Bitumen: A Review.

Conventional bitumen pavement is no longer suitable for handling increasing loads and weather variations, which cause road deterioration, Thus, the modification of bitumen has been suggested to counter this issue. This study provides a detailed assessment of various additives for modifying natural rubber-modified bitumen used in road construction. This work will focus on the use of additives with cup lump natural rubber (CLNR), which has recently started to gain attention among researchers, especially in rubber-producing countries such as Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. Furthermore, this paper aims to briefly review how the addition of additives or modifiers helps elevate the performance of bitumen by highlighting the significant properties of modified bitumen after the addition of modifiers. Moreover, the amount and method of application of each additive are discussed further to obtain the optimum value for future implementation. On the basis of past studies, this paper will review the utilisation of several types of additives, including polyphosphoric acid, Evotherm, mangosteen powder, trimethyl-quinoline and sulphur, and the application of xylene and toluene to ensure the homogeneity of the rubberised bitumen. Numerous studies were conducted to verify the performance of various types and compositions of additives, particularly in terms of physical and rheological properties. In general, additives enhance the properties of conventional bitumen. Future research should investigate CLNR because studies on its utilisation are limited.

Evaluation framework for smartphone-based road roughness index estimation systems

ABSTRACT Roughness is an important indicator of road deterioration and has a significant impact on road serviceability. Conventional instruments for roughness measurement, such as laser profilers, are expensive and require a complex set-up, which limits the surveying frequency and coverage. As an alternative, embedded sensors in smartphones mounted in vehicles have been leveraged to measure roughness indirectly, and multiple smartphone-based roughness index estimation (sRIE) systems have become available recently. However, there lacks a framework to evaluate the performance of sRIE systems in a systematic and repeatable manner. This research proposed an evaluation framework to assess the performance of sRIE systems in practical settings. The framework consists of statistical measures that evaluate the consistency and accuracy of sRIE systems under various mountings, vehicle types, and survey speeds. Three popular sRIE systems were assessed using the framework to validate their validity and practicality. By standardising the performance metrics, this framework allows for performance benchmarking between sRIE systems and conventional instruments.

Impacts of pavement performance indicators on traffic oriented parameters and road safety

With the passage of time, due to vehicle movement and environmental conditions, the road pavement deteriorates. The accident rate increases if there is no proper maintenance of road deterioration. This study evaluates the safety performance due to the change in pavement performance indicators on the selected roads of Bahawalpur, Punjab Pakistan. Three roads different pavement conditions were selected, based upon their physical inspection, of 5 Km length (each road). The pavement performance indicators used in this study were International Roughness Index (IRI), rutting and cracking. The accident data of last five years (Jan 2015 to April 2019) was used in this study. The pavement performance indicators were measured on site and accident data was taken from emergency service (Rescue 1122). The relationships between pavement performance indicators and accident data were examined. No linear relationship is found between pavement performance indicators and traffic safety, however a parabolic relation is best fitted between these variables. The parabolic models are developed by keeping the pavement performance indicators on independent axis and accident data on dependent axis which can be use by road designers for assessing the value of IRI, rutting and cracking for safe traffic flow. Some values are also suggested which can be used as evaluation criteria that whether the road needs rehabilitation work or not. The suggested values/range for IRI is 1.75-2 m/Km, for rutting 9 – 10 mm and for cracking-Pavement Condition Rating (PCR) 75-80.

Modeling Productivity Reduction and Fuel Consumption in Open-Pit Mining Trucks by Considering the Temporary Deterioration of Mining Roads through Discrete-Event Simulation

Open pit mining is based on dynamic operations within the open pit, with the haulage operation being the most decisive in terms of the cost and the overall productivity of the operation. A vital aspect for the success of the haulage operation are the conditions of the roads, which change over time due to wear and tear. The present work aims to model and to evaluate the effect of temporal deterioration affecting mining roads in an open pit mining operation through rolling resistance, using the discrete event simulation (SED) tool to evaluate two key aspects of the operation: productivity and fuel consumption. Additionally, to reverse road deterioration, the assignment of a grader with a variable frequency of use will be modeled through a parallel model. The case study is a 5 km road with a slope of 9.5%, a fleet of 10 trucks, and their capacities of 300 tons, loaded in a 24 h simulation model. The results show that not considering road deterioration can mean an overestimation of productivity of up to 600 Ton/hr, and an overconsumption of 78%. The application of a motor grader could decrease the negative effects of roads deterioration, which depends on the frequency of its assignment. The results show that for the rate of productivity and fuel consumption for every hour of frequency that the motor grader does not do road maintenance, the production loss is 600 tons, and the fuel consumption increases by approximately 1800 L in a day.

Direct Enforcement in Belgium with High Speed Weigh-in-Motion (HS-WIM)

Interest for high speed weigh-in-motion of vehicles, or HS-WIM keeps growing worldwide. The main purpose of such systems is checking weights of vehicles in a self manner, in order to impose a penalty to overloaded ones. Overloaded vehicles may cause several problems such as safety issues, road deterioration or unfair competition. Walloon Public Service (WPS) has dealt with the settings and approval of a HS-WIM system in Belgium. The latest resurfacing of the roadway around the prototype provides good-quality data that allows for reaching excellent results in terms of accuracy of the weight estimation. Therefore, direct weight enforcement may be activated since the system has a type approval certificate to be used in accordance with legal metrology requirements.