About the Project

In 1999, the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) Aeronautics Group recognized that it needed a system that would enable it to expend its limited budget for pavement maintenance and rehabilitation (M&R) in a way that maximized every dollar spent. To meet this challenge, ADOT chose APTech to establish an airport pavement management system (APMS). Impressed with APTech’s work and the usefulness of the APMS not only for themselves but also to the Federal Aviation Administration, airport sponsors, and consultants, the ADOT Aeronautics Group has retained APTech to complete six updates to the system, with the most current being completed in 2023.

During the most recent project, APTech updated the pavement systems inventory and associated maps and conducted Pavement Condition Index (PCI) inspections for sixty-two airports. In addition, APTech developed an 8-year M&R plan that focused on identifying projects for its proactive Airport Pavement Preservation Program (APPP).

Deliverables included a statewide report, individual airport reports, an APMS procedures manual, an executive summary report, and an update to its web-based pavement data visualization tool, IDEA. Many new features were incorporated into this version of IDEA, including a powerful query and filter tool and aerial imagery.

Training courses on the PCI procedure and the PAVER pavement management software were conducted as part of this update. The project culminated with a presentation of the findings of the most recent update and a demonstration on the use of IDEA at the Arizona Airports Association annual spring conference in May 2023.

During previous updates, structural testing with a heavy-weight falling-weight deflectometer, supplemented with a coring program, was undertaken as well as a structural analysis to determine structural strength and Pavement Classification Numbers.

APTech’s APMS inspections have made a lasting impact on the state. The initial 2000 implementation confirmed that state funding levels were insufficient to sponsor all needed pavement M&R projects. Therefore, the ADOT Aeronautics Group initiated the APPP, which allows the state to make the best use of its limited budget by funding those work types that have historically proven to provide the most benefit per dollar expended. The APPP is particularly important for smaller airports or those located in sparsely populated areas, which could not otherwise afford extensive maintenance efforts.

The ADOT Aeronautics Group is now able to proactively manage the pavement infrastructure at airports around the state with software that can help to identify pavement-related needs and develop prioritized lists of pavement-related projects.