Economic Feasibility Study for Pavement Monitoring Using Synthetic Aperture Radar-Based Satellite Remote Sensing: Cost–Benefit Analysis

Abstract

Recent developments in satellite remote sensing and the availability of high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) products have created an opportunity for the use of SAR-based monitoring for pavement and infrastructure management. No previous studies have performed a detailed cost–benefit analysis to analyze the economic feasibility of pavement monitoring through the use of SAR-based satellite remote sensing. The aim of this study was to fill this knowledge gap by proposing a comprehensive methodology to estimate the most important benefits and expenses associated with the use of data obtained from satellites by SAR and interferometric SAR for advanced monitoring of the infrastructure and to gain a better understanding of the strategies used to identify their effects. A general cost–benefit analysis framework that could serve as a pavement management tool for assessment of pavement deformations and deformation velocities with millimeter accuracy was developed. The results of a case study performed in the state of Delaware to demonstrate how the proposed approaches can be used to assess the impacts of SAR-based monitoring projects are also presented.