A Rational Methodology for Identification of Critical

Sections for Sustainable Maintenance of Low Volume Road

Network
* **
Sandeep Choudhary , PK Agarwal
Abstract

A huge low volume rural road network created recently in developing

countries has resulted in increased social and economic benefits in rural
areas. Thus, in order to reap the benefits of created assets it is essential
to maintain the low volume rural road timely. Rural road network are
deteriorating fast due to lack of timely maintenance, leading to higher
vehicle operating costs, increasing number of accidents etc. Thus,
providing appropriate maintenance treatment at appropriate time, the
rate of deterioration can be deferred to a great extent and this will
reduce the maintenance cost of huge low volume road network in
developing countries like India. Selection of critical road section depends
on several parameters such as functional condition, structural condition
and importance of sections in the road network. However, a critical
review of the literature indicated that no such comprehensive
methodology is available to select critical road section in the low volume
road network. Thus, the main objective of this study is to develop
methodology identification of critical sections for sustainable
maintenance of low volume road based on network level parameter. The
study proposes that first sections which are more critical for maintenance
needs to be selected first. so that the various maintenance to be select
out on these sections. The approach proposed in this study is illustrated
with the help of example of low volume roads network. Analysis results
indicated that the proposed approach is less time consuming simple and
cost effective and can be executed with minimal data which can be
obtained easily. It is expected that this study will be useful for the road
engineers and researcher to identify of critical sections for sustainable
maintenance of low volume road to effective utilization of resources.

Keywords: Low volume roads, Rural road network, Road maintenance.

*
Ph.D. Scholar, Department of Civil Engineering, Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology, Bhopal,
Madhya Pradesh, India.
**
Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology, Bhopal,
Madhya Pradesh, India.
Correspondence to: Mr. Sandeep Choudhary, Ph.D. Scholar, Department of Civil Engineering, Maulana Azad
National Institute of Technology, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. E-mail Id: sc39673@gmail.com

© ADR Journals 2017. All Rights Reserved.

Choudhary S et al.
Introduction
A huge low volume road network created
recently in India has resulted in increased
social and economic benefits in rural areas.
However, these benefits would reduce
substantially due to poor maintenance of these
created assets. Thus, in order to reap the
benefits of created assets it is essential to
maintain the low volume rural road network
timely. However, experiences have shown that
these roads, although relatively cheap to
construct, are often an unsustainable
maintenance burden for many rural road
authorities, and are rarely maintained in a
serviceable conditions. Rural road network
consists of the 58% road network percentage
of total road network in India, and the second
largest road network in the world hence
required a great care and huge investment for
construction and maintenance. Hence,
maintenance activities of road depends on
several factors such as condition of road i.e.
quantity and quality of deterioration,
increasing rate of deterioration, importance of
the different sections etc. Hence, it is difficult
to select appropriate section for maintenance
in order of their ranking in a road network.
Thus, there is an urgent need to develop a
rational methodology for identification of
critical sections for sustainable maintenance of
low volume road. Most of the methods for
evaluation of section conditions are
sophisticated, costly
J. Adv. Res. Auto. Tech. Transp. Sys. 2017; 2(1&2)
and need specialized equipment and men
power thus, the use of such Approach on
low volume road network practically
becomes impossible. Hence, there is need to
develop a rational methodology which is
cost effective, quick and simply operated.
This article consists of four sections of which
this is the first. The second section presents
methodology for identification of critical
road section and the third section present
the analysis and result using proposed
methodology. The last section presents the
important conclusions drawn based on this
study.
Methodology for Identification of
Critical Road Section
The main objective of this study is to develop
the Methodology for Identification of critical
road section. It is proposed to select road
section based on the basis of the network
parameter and also developed a sectional
index to identify critical section on road
network. Thus, the method propos that first
sections which are more critical for
maintenance needs to be selected first.
Thus, the methodology will be more
economical as details studies needs not to
be carried out on all sections. Frame work of
the methodology for identification of critical
road sections briefly explained in the Fig. 1.
20
J. Adv. Res. Auto. Tech. Transp. Sys. 2017; 2(1&2) Choudhary S et al.

MODULE-A
Development of hierarchical structural for Identification of network
level parameter affecting overall section condition

MODULE-B
Development of a methodology for evaluation of network level
parameter

MODULE-C
Determination of relative importance of various network level
parameters (weight) of overall section condition

MODULE-D
Development of an index combining parameter index and their
relative weight for selection of critical road section at network level
Figure 1.Frame Work for Identification of Critical Road Sections for Maintenance

Module-A: Development of Hierarchical Structural for Identification of Network

Level Parameter

A hierarchical structure is developed for affecting overall section condition of low

Identification of network level parameter volume road.

21
Choudhary S et al. J. Adv. Res. Auto. Tech. Transp. Sys. 2017; 2(1&2)

Identification of critical road

section
0.67 0.33
Section Section
Condition Importance

0.81 0.19
Carriage way Road side
condition condition
0.54 0.13

0.57 0.43 0.45 0.55

condition
Distress

Structural Functional Drainage

Shoulder
Condition Condition Condition
condition
0.30 0.24 0.07
0.06

Traffic
Operation
condition

Traffic
parameters (NPi)
for maintenance

safety
condition
assessment

Area of Area of Traffic Area of Section

Network

Structural Surface Safety Shoulder Importance

Distress Distress Rating Distress Rating
[NP 1] [NP 2] [NP 3] [NP 4] [NP 6]
0.52
WST = 0.30 0. W48SF = 0.11 WTS = 0.13 WSD = 0.06 WSI = 0.33
Section
Drainage
Rating
[NP 5]
WDR = 0.07

Figure 2.A hierarchical Structure of Condition Evaluation of Rural Road at Network Level

Section condition depends upon functional network level parameter for identification of
condition, structural condition, drainage critical road section.
condition and section importance. Figure 2
presents the hierarchical structure Evaluation of Structural Distress
developed in module-A to evaluate section Condition for Section s (NP-1s)
condition of road.
Structural Distress condition indicates the
Module-B: Development of a original structural condition. Fatigue cracking
methodology for evaluation of is characterized by relatively large
deformation of the pavement compare to
condition of parameters at network
rut depth. These dangerous to traffic and
level
cause reduction in speed of traffic theses are
The main objective of the module-B is to generally followed by extensive crack over
develop methodology for evaluation of the pavement surface in the affected region

22
J. Adv. Res. Auto. Tech. Transp. Sys. 2017; 2(1&2) Choudhary S et al.

Eq. (1) has been developed for assessment of distress at section S. it’s also present in Eq.
structural Distress index (STDIs) at section S. (2).

(1) (2)

Where, Where,

ASDs = Area of structural distress (rut depth, SDAs = Surface distress area (Pothole,
2
2 cracking depression etc.) at section S in m
fatigue cracking, etc.) at section s in m
TCAs = Total carriageway Area of section S
TCAs = Total carriageway area of section s
(m2)
(m2)

Evaluation of Functional Surface Evaluation of Traffic Safety Condition

Distress Condition for Section s (NP-2s) for Section S (NP-3s)
Traffic safety condition index (TSCIs) for
Functional Surface Distress Index (FSDIs) is
section S is determining by the user rating of
determining by three different type of distress
traffic safety condition on the basis of
such as disintegrated surface, distorted surface
geometric condition, traffic furniture, and
and fractured surface which is determine by
surface condition of road Table 1 present the
the percentage of surface
guideline for (TSCIs).
Table 1.Guidelines for User Rating for Evaluation of Traffic Safety Condition Index (TSCIs)
No. Section condition Condition details TSCIs rating
1 Extremely hazards Adverse most severe Geometry condition 1.0
condition Large no of traffic furniture are missing
Road Surface has big potholes
2 Most severe Road Geometry is very poor as curves are not 0.8
condition designed properly
Road furniture are missing at some places , not
provided at appropriate places
Potholes of small sizes on road surface
3 Severe condition Major Crakes and rut on the road surface 0.6
Traffic furniture at few places are missing
Roads geometry is improper at some places and
adequate curve radius not provided
4 Moderate condition Potholes are very small and they are less in area, 0.4
Traffic furniture condition is poor at some places,
Road geometry is improper for some stretch of roads
5 Safe condition Potholes are very small and they are very less in area 0.2
Traffic furniture at one or two places is missing
Road geometry is improper at very few places
6 No hazardous Improper Road geometry is negligible. 0.0
condition Ideal condition of road surface
Traffic furniture are not missing,

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Choudhary S et al. J. Adv. Res. Auto. Tech. Transp. Sys. 2017; 2(1&2)

Evaluation of Shoulder Condition for Evaluation of Drainage Condition for

Section S (NP-4s) Section s (NP-5s)

Shoulder distress condition Index (SDCIs) is
determined by the percentage of shoulder
distress condition to the total shoulder area
it’s presented in Eq. (3).
(3)
Where,
ASDs= area of shoulder distress at section S
2
m surface protection especially for bituminous
TSAs= Total shoulder Area of section S (m2)
Drainage Condition Index (DCIs) is determine
by the slope due to road surface in
longitudinal direction and transverse
direction (camber) if the Slope is too low,
then rain and melt water drainage will be
insufficient. This results in water pooling on
the road surface, thereby increasing the risk
for road damage and wet-pavement vehicle
crashes. Objectives of providing slope are
roads, quick drying of pavement. Table 2
present the guidelines for user rating for
evaluation of drainage condition index.

Table 2.Guidelines for User Rating for Evaluation of Drainage Condition Index
No. Drainage condition Condition detail DCIs rating
1 Extremely hazards condition Time to drain much greater than 10 hours 1.0
2 Most severe condition Time to drain greater than 10 hours 0.8
3 Severe condition Time to drain 5-10 hours 0.6
4 Moderate condition Time to drain 2-5 hours 0.4
5 Safe condition Time to drain less than 2 hours 0.2
6 No hazardous condition Ideal condition of road surface 0.0

Evaluation of Section Importance for of a section depends upon the importance to

Section S (NP-6s) community Section importance rating is
presented in Table 3.
The user rating for section importance (SIIs)
Table 3.Guidelines for User Rating for Section Importance Index (SIIs)
No. Section importance SIIs rating
1 Extremely important 1.0
2 Very important 0.8
3 Fairly Important 0.6
4 Important 0.4
5 Less important 0.2
6 Very less important 0.0

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J. Adv. Res. Auto. Tech. Transp. Sys. 2017; 2(1&2) Choudhary S et al.

Module-C: Determination of relative … (4)

importance of various Network
Parameters
The systems of weights are introduced to
reflect the contribution of each index and
factors. Analytical hierarchy process (AHP) is
used to determine the weight of the
different condition at network. The details
of weight obtain for various network
parameters are shown in Fig. 2.
Module-D: Development of section
index for Identification of critical road
section
Section condition Index depends upon
network level parameter and its relative
weight, Eq. (4) presents the section index
developed to evaluate rural road section
condition at network level.
Where
NPIns = Network parameter Index for
parameter n section s
WNPI = Weight of network parameter I
n = number of network parameter
Now, the methodology to evaluate distress
condition is developed and explained by
putting the value of network parameter and
its weight, Equation -4 can be written as
follows
SIs = 0.30 STDIs + 0.11 FSCIs+ 0.13 TSCIs +
0.06 SDCIs + 0.07 DCIs + 0.33 SIIs … (5)
Further, to illustrate the methodology and to
illustrate how methodology works, different
sections were analyzed and details of
analysis and results obtained are presented
in the following section.

Table 4.Different Case Considered Illustrating the Methodology

Case Sec Total Area of Area of Traffic Area of Sectio Sectio Should
designa tio carriagew structur surface safety shoulde n n er area
tion n ay Area al distress rating r draina import of
2 2
(m ) distress (m ) distress ge ance sectio
2 2
(m ) (m ) rating rating n S
2
(m )
S TCAs ASDs SDAs TSIs ASDs DCIs SIIs TSAs
Case-IA S1 Similar Low Similar Similar Similar Similar Similar Similar
S2 Similar Medium Similar Similar Similar Similar Similar Similar
S3 Similar High Similar Similar Similar Similar Similar Similar
Case-IB S4 Similar Similar Low Similar Similar Similar Similar Similar
S5 Similar Similar Medium Similar Similar Similar Similar Similar
S6 Similar Similar High Similar Similar Similar Similar Similar
Case-IC S7 Similar Similar Similar Low Similar Similar Similar Similar
S8 Similar Similar Similar Medium Similar Similar Similar Similar
S9 Similar Similar Similar High Similar Similar Similar Similar

25
Choudhary S et al. J. Adv. Res. Auto. Tech. Transp. Sys. 2017; 2(1&2)

Analysis and Result for Identification of
Critical Road Sections
As discussed in the above Eq. (5) used to
determine section index which identify the
critical road sections for maintenance based
on network level parameter.
methodology for three different cases were
analyzed. The details of these three different
cases considered for analysis are given in
Table 4.
Case-I: Effect of Structure Distress
Condition on Identification of Sections

To illustrate the methodology and to In this case it is assumed that the total
illustrate how the proposed methodology carriage way area and shoulder area are
works, detailed analysis were carried out. same in three sections and all the network
Three different cases were analyzed. A parameter also same excluding only area of
network consists of 10 low volume road structural distress (ASDs) of the section are
sections were analyzed. Details of different different at various selected section, a
cases considered, input data and analysis network consists of 3 road sections. Details
results for each case is presented in the of input data for case-I are given in Table 5.
following section. To illustrate the
Table-5.Input Data for Analysis of Case 1A (Effect of Structure Condition)
No Sectio Total Area of Area of Traff Area of Section Section Should
. n carriagew structur surface ic should drainag importan er area
ay area al distres safe er e rating ce rating of
2
m2 distress s (m ) ty distress section
2 2 2
(m ) ratin (m ) S (m )
g
S TCAs ASDs SDAs TSIs ASDs DCIs SIIs TSAs
1 S1 3750 938 344 0.6 204 0.5 0.7 3750
2 S2 3750 562 344 0.6 204 0.5 0.7 3750
3 S3 3750 188 344 0.6 204 0.5 0.7 3750

Case-I at includes evaluation of section index three sections was determined using SIs
of three different low volume rural road Equation and it is presented in Table 6.
sections. The section index (SIs) for all the
Table 6.Analysis Results for Case-I (Selection of Critical Road Sections)
No Sectio Structura Surfac Traffi shoulde Section Section Sectio Rank
. n l distress e c r drainag importanc n of
index distres safet distress e rating e rating index sectio
s index y index n
rating
S TCAs SDCIs TSCIs SDCIs DCIs SIIs SIs Rs
NPI- 1 NPI-2 NPI-3 NPI-4 NPI-5 NPI-6 SIs
1 S1 0.2501 0.0917 0.6 0.0544 0.5 0.7 0.6105 3
2 S2 0.1499 0.0917 0.6 0.0544 0.5 0.7 0.5775 2
3 S3 0.0501 0.0917 0.6 0.0544 0.5 0.7 0.5445 1

26
J. Adv. Res. Auto. Tech. Transp. Sys. 2017; 2(1&2) Choudhary S et al.

Indices value given in Table 6 was used to should be given to that section. Analysis and
determine section index of different section. result for Case-I shown graphically in Fig. 3.
High value of SIs indicates that higher rank
Section with Higher Structure Distress Gets Higher Rank

Rs = 1

Rs = 2

Rs = 3

Sections ID (Sn)
Figure 3.Analysis Result of Case-I Effect of Structure Distress Condition

Ranks obtained for different section are Case-II: Effect of Surface Distress
shown in the Fig. 3. It is clear from the Figure Condition in Identification of Sections
3 that third section have critical condition
whose section index (SIs) is highest among In this case it is assumed that the Total
the other sections carriage way area and shoulder area are same
on three sections and all the network
parameter also same excluding only area of
surface distress (ASDs) of the section are
different at various Selected Section, A
network consists of 3 road sections. Details of
input data for case I-A are given in Table 7.
Table 7.Input Data for Analysis of Case-II (Effect of Surface Distress Condition)
No. Sectio Total Area of Area Traffic Area of Section Section Should
n carriagew structur of safety shoulde drainag importan er area
ay area al surfac rating r e rating ce rating of
m2 distress e distress section
2 2 2
(m ) distres (m ) S (m )
2
s (m )
S TCAs ASDs SDAs TSIs ASDs DCIs SIIs TSAs
1 S4 3750 437 193 0.5 264 0.7 0.5 3750
2 S5 3750 437 569 0.5 264 0.7 0.5 3750
3 S6 3750 437 942 0.5 264 0.7 0.5 3750

27
Choudhary S et al. J. Adv. Res. Auto. Tech. Transp. Sys. 2017; 2(1&2)

Case 1B at includes evaluation of section the three sections was determined using SIs
index of three different low volume rural Equation and it is presented in Table 8.
road sections. The section index (SIs) for all
Table 8.Analysis results for Case-II (Selection of critical road sections)
No Sectio Structura Surfac Traffi Shoulde Section Section Sectio Rank
. n l distress e c r drainag importanc n of
index distres safet distress e rating e rating index sectio
s index y index nS
rating
S TCAs SDCIs TSCIs SDCIs DCIs SIIs SIs Rs
NPI- 1 NPI-2 NPI-3 NPI-4 NPI-5 NPI-6 Sis S
1 S4 0.1165 0.0515 0.5 0.0704 0.7 0.5 0.4681 3
2 S5 0.1165 0.1517 0.5 0.0704 0.7 0.5 0.5684 2
3 S6 0.1165 0.2512 0.5 0.0704 0.7 0.5 0.6679 1

Indices value given in Table 8 was used to should be given to that section. Analysis and
determine section index of different section. result for Case IB shown graphically in Fig. 4.
High value of SIs indicates that higher rank

Section with Higher Surface Distress Gets Higher Rank

Rs =1

Rs =2

Rs =3

S6 S5 S4
Sections ID (s)
Figure 4.Analysis Result of Case1B Module 1 (Effect of Variation in Surface Distress Area)

Ranks obtained for different section are
shown in the Figure 3. It is clear from the
Figure 3 that third section have critical
condition whose Section index (SIs) is
highest among the other sections.
Case-III: Effect of Traffic Safety
Conditions in Identification of Sections
In this case it is assumed that the traffic
safety rating is different and remains
condition are similar in three section and all
the network parameter also same excluding
only road safety rating of the section are
different at various Selected Section, A
network consists of 3 road sections. Details
of input data for case-III are given in Table 9.

28
J. Adv. Res. Auto. Tech. Transp. Sys. 2017; 2(1&2) Choudhary S et al.

Table 9.Input Data for Analysis of Case-III (Effect of Traffic Safety Rating)
No. Sectio Total Area of Area Traffic Area of Section Section Should
n carriagew structur of safety shoulde drainag importan er area
ay area al surfac rating r e rating ce rating of
m2 distress e distress section
2 2 2
(m ) distres (m ) S (m )
2
s (m )
S TCAs ASDs SDAs TSIs ASDs DCIs SIIs TSAs S
1 S7 3750 375 535 0.2 345 0.6 0.5 3750
2 S8 3750 375 535 0.5 345 0.6 0.5 3750
3 S9 3750 375 535 0.8 345 0.6 0.5 3750

Case 1C at includes evaluation of section the three sections was determined using SIs
index of three different low volume rural Equation and it is presented in Table 10.
road sections. The section index (SIs) for all
Table 10.Analysis Results for Case-III at (Selection of Critical Road Sections)
No Sectio Structura Surfac Traffi Shoulde Section Section Sectio Rank
. n l distress e c r drainag importanc n of
index distres safet distress e rating e rating index sectio
s index y index nS
rating
S TCAs SDCIs TSCIs SDCIs DCIs SIIs Sis Rs
NPI- 1 NPI-2 NPI-3 NPI-4 NPI-5 NPI-6 Sis S
1 S7 0.1000 0.1427 0.2 0.0920 0.6 0.5 0.5092 3
2 S8 0.1000 0.1427 0.5 0.0920 0.6 0.5 0.5482 2
3 S9 0.1000 0.1427 0.8 0.0920 0.6 0.5 0.5872 1

Indices value given in Table 6 was used to should be given to that section. Analysis and
determine section index of different section. result for Case-III shown graphically in Fig. 3.
High value of SIs indicates that higher rank
Section with Higher Safety Gets Higher Rank
Rs =1
n
d
e

S
x

s
(

)
I

Rs =2
Sectio
n

Rs =3

S9 S8 S7
.
Sections ID (s)

Figure 5.Analysis Result of Case-III (Effect of Safety Condition for Identification of Road Section)

29
Choudhary S et al.
Ranks obtained for different section are
shown in the Fig. 5. It is clear from the Fig. 5
that third section have critical condition
whose Section index (SIs) is highest among
the other sections. The ranking of different
section depends on the sections need of
each section. It is clear from Fig. 5 that
section 7 should be maintained first and
hence methodology ranks section rationally.
Conclusions
Some important conclusions drawn from
this study are as follows:-
Selection of critical road section for
maintenance of road network should be
selected considering network level
parameter Structural condition, Surface
condition, Traffic Safety condition,
Shoulder condition, Drainage condition
and Section Importance of each road
section in the road network. However a
critical review of the literature indicated
that no such comprehensive methodology
available for Identification of Critical road
Sections for Sustainable Maintenance of
Road network. Therefore there is an
urgent need to develop a rational
methodology for selection of critical road
section considering network parameter in
a comprehensive way.
This study presents the methodology
which contains four modules to select
the most appropriate sections of a low
volume roads network considering their
rank for maintenance based on
importance, traffic operational
condition, drainage condition, structural
condition and traffic safety condition of
road section etc.
In “Module-A” A hierarchal structure is
developed for Identification of network
level parameter affecting overall section
J. Adv. Res. Auto. Tech. Transp. Sys. 2017; 2(1&2)
condition. In this study six network
parameter index are also developed to
identify the condition of different sections
in the road network. In “Module-B” six
indices are developed at network level for
evaluation of affecting overall section
condition to identify the condition of
different sections in the road network. In
“Module-C” six weights of network level
parameter are developed to reflect the
contribution of each index by Analytical
hierarchy process. These developed in such
a way that it would lies between 0 to 1. A
section index (SIs) is developed in Module-
D” considering NPIns and their relative
weight. The SIs can be used to select the
critical sections of road network using
minimal data.
The methodology proposed in this study is
also illustrated with the help of example of
a low volume roads network. Analysis
results indicated that the proposed
methodology is less time consuming
simple and cost effective and can be
executed with minimal data which can be
obtained easily and economically.
It is expected that the approach proposed in
this study can be used for selection of
appropriate section on road network so that
the road maintenance can be utilized to
achieve maximum improvement.
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