Leveraging State DOT Technology and Practice for Cost-Effective Pavement Management by Local Government Authorities

Abstract

To improve management of the pavement assets in Georgia’s local government authorities (LGs), there is a need to leverage the existing pavement management and maintenance technology and practice in the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT). However, due to the difference in organizational structure and resource limitation of LGs, GDOT’s technology cannot be directly adopted. To address this issue, a research team at Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) developed the Computerized Pavement Condition Evaluation System for Counties and Cities (COPACES-CC) that is based on GDOT’s current practice on pavement management and maintenance. To facilitate the technology transfer (T²) from GDOT to Georgia’s LGs, the Georgia Tech research team has collaborated with GDOT’s Office of Research, Local Technical Assistance Program, Office of Local Grants, and Office of Maintenance. LGs’ decision makers and stakeholders were also engaged in this T² activity. This paper presents the research need and development of COPACES-CC, a guided T² process that was adopted in three-stage development and implementation strategies, and the key factors that are related to the components of a guided T². Conclusions and future recommendations are offered. It is hoped that the successful experience in the T² of COPACES-CC could be useful and beneficial to other state DOTs and LGs.