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Pavement Condition Assessments

October 10, 2024

TAC Sponsor Spotlight Article – Thurber Engineering

“Ugh! Not another pothole!” This is a curse uttered by both commuters and city planners alike – and it’s a curse that Thurber Engineering can help commuters and planners avoid. Age, heavy vehicle use, freeze-thaw cycles, and road salts are some of the reasons for pavement condition deterioration, but proper management and bias-free assessment can alleviate the service life and condition of the pavement.

Pavement asset management studies

The first step in managing pavement condition is to assess its current state. All the roads owned by municipal, provincial, and federal authorities require condition assessment and asset management plans to prioritize and optimize maintenance and capital planning strategies. This proactive planning helps them avoid costly surprises and improve the overall road network level of service. Thurber uses specialized technology and the expertise of pavement and materials engineers to assess the pavement condition and develop asset management plans.

Accuracy and safety are the key when carrying out a pavement asset management study. Thurber has strategically partnered with Tiger Eye Engineering (TEE) to offer our clients bias-free, fully automated pavement condition assessment using high-definition action cameras, Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking system, Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) and acceleration sensors. A Thurber vehicle mounted with high-definition action cameras and LiDAR captures pavement condition at all angles while driving within the speed limit, thereby eliminating the need for manual methods which have elevated risk levels, are more subjective and less repeatable, and take longer to assess.

Thurber vehicle mounted with high-definition action cameras and LiDAR

Artificial Intelligence models developed by TEE analyze the collected data and integrate it with machine learning and deep learning to detect distress and assess pavement condition. Thurber carries out quality control checks on the pre- and post-processed data and develops capital planning scenarios based on the client’s needs. All the processed data is georeferenced, with a highly advanced data visualization dashboard. This allows our clients to see exactly where pavement conditions have deteriorated and the type of deterioration present. A visualization is a helpful tool for helping prioritize repairs on roadways with heavier uses.

Visualization dashboard that Thurber shares with clients

The portability and transferability of this system enable Thurber to carry out fully automated surveys across Canada without the need to have a dedicated vehicle. This helps us provide pavement assessments in anywhere from urban centres to remote townsites at an affordable price.

Other tools in our pavement engineering arsenal include the Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) which we use to test the structural capacity of the in-place pavement, an inertial profiler which tests asphalt and concrete smoothness, Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) to scan the pavement to estimate layer thickness and anomalies under the surface, and our advanced asphalt and concrete material testing services.

Thurber’s Falling Weight Deflectometer in motion

Pavement rehabilitation plan

When our pavement condition assessment identifies that a paved surface needs rehabilitation, we develop a pavement rehabilitation plan which includes detailed design and construction specifications for the rehabilitation work. We also help develop an estimated rehabilitation budget, prepare construction-ready tender documents, and provide construction quality assurance oversight as part of the contract administration team.

More than cars and busses

We not only assess and rehabilitate roads, highways, and bridges. Our team works across Canada and internationally to assess the condition of airport runways, taxiways, and aprons. We work with our airport clients to develop asset management plans that ensure smooth takeoffs and landings at all times.

Pavement rehabilitation at the Kamloops airport

Thurber’s transportation services

In addition to our pavement asset management services, Thurber provides the groundwork for transportation infrastructure across Canada. Our services include:

  • Route selection
  • Geohazard assessment and mitigation
  • Climate change assessments
  • Terrain mapping and analysis
  • Rock mechanics engineering
  • Seismic assessments
  • Excess soil management
  • Slope stability engineering
  • Foundation engineering
  • Tunnelling and trenchless technology
  • Earthworks design and construction
  • Construction monitoring
  • Horizontal directional drilling design
  • Environmental services

Thanks to Thurber Engineering Ltd. for being a TAC sponsor. Learn more about the organization by reading its sponsor profile or at www.thurber.ca.