Abstract:
In order to have the updated road information regarding inventory management of road
maintenance it requires digitized database. Nowadays, all data and information
management are conducted in integrated digital form. Road organizations in Ethiopia
have no such a system currently. Lacking of such a system creates gaps in information
and data which in turn affects remedial measure developments. In order to have the
updated road information regarding inventory management of road maintenance it
requires digitized database. GIS is a powerful application and able to analyze and store
all the geospatial data because road information has both spatial and attribute data.
Pavement defects extent and severity were assessed by field survey in parallel by
collecting each section coordinates with the help of GPS. GIS is a powerful technology
which integrates both attribute and spatial data of the road inventory information and
additionally, it also is able to carry out different various analyses through spatial and
attribute database.
Researchers successfully integrated the GIS into PMS for storing, repossessing,
analyzing, and reporting information needed to support pavement-related decision
making. The main characteristics of a GIS system are that it enables joining
data/information to its geographical location which can be expressed by
latitude/longitude instead of the milepost or reference-point system traditionally used in
transportation. GIS technology is also capable of rapidly repossessing data from a
database and can automatically generate customized maps to meet specific needs such
as identifying maintenance locations. The study assessed road pavement condition and
evaluated the road by PCI, and used GIS to produce spatial and attribute database of
road distresses so that to prioritize the sections of road pavement for maintenance based
on the better visualization of sections of the road in GIS. Different maps are produced
from the PCI results from which section prioritization for maintenance can be done.
PMMS data can be better managed with GIS and GPS integration. In conclusion, GIS
PMMS gives a modified and standard pavement data management. Hence, I recommend
road organizations to practice or use GIS-PMMS.
