The paper discusses the issues within a current highway preservation data integration project. The goal of the project is to integrate all technical and management data into a consolidated properly designed database that enables the organization to deliver evidence based decision‐ making. The project is an in‐house development which is the opposite of many government directions for database development at the moment. The scope of the database is extensive as it covers all data to support the following data categories related to highway maintenance and rehabilitation: expenditures; performance; inspections; inventory management; treatment and maintenance budgeting; long and short‐term condition and performance history; and treatments history All data will be related to the highway inventory and stored for analysis. In addition to the above it is planned that information will be stored in the corporate database regarding the following: Shoulders (including the width, type, and condition ‐ linked to tolerability categories as a minimum) Risk assessment factors for each segment (updated periodically). Defects at a segment level so trends can be tracked over time Efficiency and quality of maintenance work The main focus of the paper is how the design and construction is being managed within the Ministry. Issues surrounding the scope and documentation of the database functionality are covered in detail. How the design is being translated into practice and rolled out with training is also discussed in the paper.