The evolution and legacy of pavement management in Canada represents a unique success story. With a compilation of knowledge and best practices covering more than four decades, Canadian road agencies have been provided with up-to-date technologies and management guidance in the pavement field. While those responsible for creating the legacy can justifiably take pride in their accomplishment it is equally important that the “story” of the evolution and legacy be written for the leaders of tomorrow. The pioneering work began in the late 1950’s with formation of a Pavement Design and Evaluation Committee in CGRA. Based on nationwide investigations of pavement sections, and an extraordinary level of effort and commitment by the committee members and their organizations, “A Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible and Rigid Pavements in Canada” was published in 1965. The next major milestone and achievement can be credited to the Pavement Management Committee, under RTAC, the successor to CGRA. Their work resulted in the first ever book on the subject, “Pavement Management Guide”, published by RTAC in 1977, and “Guide de Gestion Routière” published by the Association Québecoise de Transport et des Routes”. The following era saw a substantive increase in pavement design and management technology, including the initiation of SHRP and C-SHRP. Now under TAC as the successor to RTAC in 1991, the Committee began work on a new Guide. It was published in 1997 as the “Pavement Design and Management Guide”. A need for updating the 1997 Guide became apparent in the 2000 era and a project supported by TAC’s Standing Committee on Pavements and Soils and Materials was launched in 2010, with an expected publication date of a new “Pavement Asset Design and Management Guide” in 2012. A number of key contributing factors to the legacy include leadership and commitment, a comprehensive and stable pavement management framework, a vision of the technical, economic and institutional needs of agencies and users, an understanding of available technologies and best practices, incorporation of a life cycle approach and an environment (CGRA/RTAC/TAC) which fosters innovation. 3 Needed improvements in advancing pavement management have been identified in each chapter of each Guide, and a consolidated list is provided in the paper. Finally, suggestions toward an ideal pavement management system of the future are also provided in the paper.
