Maintaining roads is better than replacing them.
That was the message Stantec Consulting Ltd. pavement specialist and project manager Fadi Jadoun shared with the Cold Lake City Council during their regular meeting on Tuesday, May 16.
“Research has shown that it's way less expensive to keep the road in good condition compared to waiting until it's dead and then fixing it,” Jadoun said.
Pavement management is the process of planning the maintenance and rehabilitation of a road network in order to optimize pavement conditions and spending.
“It's very important to look at pavement management as we aren't trying to optimize a certain road or section. We're looking at the network as a whole, and whatever decisions we make with the help of the RoadMatrix software would be the benefit of the entire network,” explained Jadoun.
The RoadMatrix Pavement Managing System is software that contains information about local pavement conditions. It also stores data, and gives recommendations on which projects the city should prioritize.
“The way it works is at the end of the year the city has implemented so much work, that work goes into the system. Then we upload all of that work history into the system and it give us the benefits of that work, updates all of the scores, and tells you how you have improved or if you need to spend more,” Jadoun said.
The study was conducted as part of the city's Pavement and Sidewalk Condition Data and Management System Implementation program initiated in 2015.
Using specialized equipment, Stantec studied the roadways in Cold Lake focusing on four indices: the Ride Comfort Index (RCI), Visual Condition Index (VCI), Structural Adequacy Index (SAI), and Pavement Quality Index (PQI).
One machine collects data on the ruts, cracks, and potholes using lasers and by stitching together small photographs. This information is entered into the RoadMatrix, and determines the VCI and RCI.
The company also tests the resilience of the road using a deflectometer, a non-destructive device that is towed behind a vehicle.
“We bang the road with loads equivalent to truck loads, and at varied radial distances we actually measure the deflection of the surface. If we have more discrepancies than that means the road is weaker,” Jadoun explained, adding this data helps determine the road's SAI.
Overall, the city has an approximate PQI of 65 out of 100, with zero being extremely poor condition and 100 being peak condition. Arterial roadways were the highest on the scale at 79 PQI. Collector roadways were at 69 PQI, and local roads had a PQI of 59.
“Cold Lake is right at the average. There are other municipalities who are newer and are expanding rapidly, so if their number is high it could be a reflection of their quick expansion,” noted Jadoun.
A higher PQI for arterial roadways is normal, because they tend to be the roadways most often used and focused on by municipalities.
“That's very logical. Typically we give more importance to major roads because there are more users on those roads,” said Jadoun.
Twenty-seven per cent of the city's arterial and collector roads were deemed deficient, or have a PQI of less than 65. While 46 per cent, or about 64 kilometres worth of one-lane roadways, are considered deficient.
Jadoun expressed that the deficiency trigger levels for each municipality differs.
“The minimum PQI is an establishment of a service level. You can establish a minimum PQI of 100 per cent and then everything is deficient, so it's an establishment of the service level based on what you want as an asset management program,” City CAO Kevin Nagoya explained.
Sidewalk conditions were measured using an iPad and an interface that collects 10 different distress types such as cracking, corner breaks, scaling, shattering, faulting, and patching both large and small.
The average condition for sidewalks in Cold Lake is 93 PQI. Another 106 kilometres of sidewalk had a score of 70 or higher. Sidewalk ramps were also tested, nearly 800 were deemed good, 302 were missing altogether, and eight are in need of repairs.
Jadoun said if the city were to keep going without spending any money on roads over the next 10 years they would eventually hit an overall PQI of 49.3.
“If we spend $1 million per year, our network average PQI will still go down to about 59.3 by the end of 2026,” he continued. “That tells me $1 million per year is not enough if we are wanting to at least maintain the condition of our roads.”
In order to reach a 69.5 PQI within 10 years, the city would need to invest about $2 million into roads annually.
“We used to do worst first, but that is the exact opposite of what a sound pavement management calls for. We need to preserve good roads and good conditions rather than fixing those bad roads first. With the same amount that you need to reconstruct one road, you can preserve 50 other road sections with an extended life,” said Jadoun.
