Civil Engineering Association

Maintenance and Pavement Management

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This manual has been developed for training and use during the FY 2003 network distress surveys. Improvements in distress survey methods and condition ratings are expected to continuously evolve and will be incorporated into this manual by yearly changes. This manual describes the methods to be used for conducting visual evaluations of flexible and jointed concrete pavement distresses. It was formatted to be read and printed as an Adobe .pdf file.
The survey procedures provide a method of determining pavement condition through observation and recording the presence of specific types defects or distresses in the pavement surface.
The 3 elements of the pavement distress rating are as follows:
1. The type of distress.
2. The severity of the distress.
3. The extent to which the road surface is affected by the distress.
There may be several types of severity and extents for each distress. These are described and illustrated in the following pages of this manual.
The rating system was developed considering the following objectives: (1) to record conditions that can effect pavement performance, (2) to facilitate consistent results from several different
individuals with limited survey experience observing and measuring from the shoulder of the pavement, and (3) cost effectiveness. Some conditions that can affect performance are not included because of the expected difficulty in achieving consistency among raters. The definitions of severity and extent could be different if the conditions were rated through the windshield when driving the road, were mapped, or determined from photo images. Generally conditions will be surveyed in the outside travel lane in the positive direction (reference post numbers increasing in the direction of traffic). If safety or traffic require a different lane or direction, indicate in comment field when recording data. Except for Bleeding and Raveling, record the extent of each severity of each type of distress. When rating the width of an individual crack, use the predominant or average width, not the extremes. Cracks often vary in width and the intent is to rate the overall severity of the crack.
Severity is not rated for Skin Patching, Potholes, and Edge Drop Off. The relative sun angle and direction of viewing the roadway surface can affect your visual observation. Be sure to view the pavement from more than one direction occasionally during the survey to assure the true nature of the pavement surface is being observed. The time of year and weather (moisture and temperature) conditions over a given time period can also affect the severity and visibility of certain distresses. If practicable, rate the roadway only while the pavement is dry.
Field Safety
The safety of raters and motorists is of primary importance when surveying. Remember the following:
• TURN ON THE VEHICLE FLASHING YELLOW LIGHT WHEN SURVEYING,
TURN OFF WHEN NOT SURVEYING.
• HATS AND SAFETY VESTS WORN AT ALL TIMES.
• SURVEYS TO BE PERFORMED FROM THE ROADWAY SHOULDER
• ESTIMATE CRACK WIDTH FROM SHOULDER
• CONDUCT SURVEYS WITH ONE EYE ON TRAFFIC
• SUMMARIZE OUT OF HARM'S WAY
• DO NOT CHASE HATS OR FORMS
• DO NOT CONDUCT SURVEYS IN THE RAIN