The most recent Airport Pavement Management System (APMS) update at Vance Air Force Base (AFB) in Enid, Oklahoma identified the need to rehabilitate the pavement on Runway 17R/35L and portions of Taxiways C, F, and G based on their deteriorating surface condition. APTech teamed with Mead & Hunt, Inc. to provide design and construction guidance for the placement of new pavement. As part of this effort, we were primarily responsible for evaluating the existing pavement condition and developing recommendation for the new pavement design.

To evaluate the pavement, we conducted a visual pavement evaluation, performed FWD testing, and provided input into developing the geotechnical sampling and testing plan. We also developed alternative pavement designs in accordance with UFC 3-260-02, Pavement Design for Airfields using Pavement-Transportation Computer Assisted Structural Evaluation (PCASE) software, analyzed the alternatives through a life-cycle cost analysis (LCCA), and developed design recommendations.

In addition, we are provided review and input on the pavement design details, construction plans, and material specifications. Once the pavement design option was selected, APTech performed additional analyses to determine the Pavement Classification Number (PCN) of the rehabilitated pavements.

For over the past 10 years, the United States Army has implemented and maintained a pavement management system for their roadways, parking, and motor pool pavements. As part of this effort, the United States Army Corps of Engineers–Omaha District has awarded indefinite delivery indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contracts with consultants who have specialized knowledge in pavement engineering. APTech is currently one of the teams under an IDIQ contract with the Army to provide pavement management services of their roadways, parking, and motor pool pavements.

Under the current IDIQ, APTech has implemented or updated the pavement management system at the following posts:

Camp Parks

Dugway Proving Ground

Fort Bliss

Fort Devens

Fort Hood

Fort Huachuca

Fort Leonard Wood

Fort McCoy

Fort Sill

The roadway, parking, and motor pools at these posts total approximately 350 million square feet of pavement. Work has included performing records reviews, updating the pavement inventory within the PAVER pavement management system, performing Installation Status Report-Pavement Condition Index (ISR-PCI) surveys, and customizing the maintenance and rehabilitation inputs for the roadways, parking, and motor pool pavements. As part of the maintenance and rehabilitation analysis, APTech creates or updates pavement prediction models, creates or updates ISR-PCI versus cost models, and performs 10-year work planning analysis. These components are used to develop a list of recommended rehabilitation projects which is thoroughly reviewed and edited during a project formulation with each post.

As part of the pavement management system, APTech is aligning segmentation of the pavement with Real Property data. The goal of this alignment is for the Army to gain an understanding of the condition of each facility as defined by Real Property data. By providing the Army the pavement condition information and a recommended list of projects for their posts, budgets can be appropriately made to allocate money to pavements in need.

Under a previous IDIQ, APTech has implemented the pavement management system at Detroit Arsenal, Fort Belvoir, Fort Knox, Fort Rucker, Fort Wainwright, The Pentagon, and West Point.

In 2007, the Canadian Department of National Defence (DND) implemented an airfield pavement management system (PMS) to assist with managing their pavement network. Although the project included distress data collection following the pavement condition index (PCI) procedures and general work plan development using PAVER, the DND soon discovered that additional information was needed to adequately plan for maintenance and rehabilitation (M&R) needs on their airfields.

In 2012, the Canadian DND recognized a need to enhance their PMS and selected APTech to conduct PCI inspections and supplemental distress surveys to adequately address and plan for their M&R needs. The contract included twenty-three airfield facilities throughout Canada, representing the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and covering more than 8 million square meters of pavement. Due to their satisfaction with APTech’s work and deliverables, the Canadian DND again selected APTech in 2019 to update the airfield PMS at their facilities throughout Canada.

As part of the project, APTech conducted a records review while also updating network definition maps and PAVER databases. PCI inspections were conducted in accordance with ASTM D5340. In addition, a supplemental distress survey was conducted using APTech’s GIS-based mapping tool, in which every distress is identified and electronically mapped with GPS coordinates. Using this tool, every distress in both portland cement concrete pavement and asphalt concrete pavement that poses a safety concern is mapped. APTech referenced GIS-mapped distress data from the previous IDIQ as a starting point for current inspections. The field inspectors compared distresses during inspections, giving APTech the unparalleled ability to analyze the progression of specific distresses and the deterioration of sections as a whole.

APTech also analyzed distress data and developed recommended rehabilitation plans, along with detailed localized maintenance plans. Distress maps are used to highlight maintenance needs for the airfield pavements, which can be easily identified and repaired by maintenance forces. APTech analyzed the collected data using various budget scenarios in PAVER to assess the impact of each scenario on the overall pavement condition over time. APTech provided specific M&R requirements to maintain each pavement section above a specified acceptable condition over a 5-year period, in addition to developing and mapping Engineering Assessment ratings that account for pavement condition, friction, structural condition, and foreign object debris potential.

APTech overcame the shortcomings experienced by the DND in their initial pavement management implementation by collecting additional detailed distress data and using this same data set to determine PCIs, providing both the detailed and summary results they desired. The collection of supplemental distress data provides great benefit and allows for project-level utilization by the DND. The data provide the DND the ability to:

Visually understand the condition of the pavement without having to visit each site

Identify distress patterns

Create more accurate maintenance plans,

Convey maintenance plans to sites for execution

Make more informed rehabilitation decisions

Track distress and repairs over time with subsequent inspections

APTech has also developed its web-based interactive pavement management data visualization tool, IDEA, to display the results and recommendations in both English and French. The implementation of IDEA allows the DND to disseminate pavement information with ease throughout Canada.