Challenges

• Used outdated and informal manual pavement assessments
• Lack of historical knowledge and data

Solution

• Michelin Better Roads: Fast, objective, affordable road assessment

Results

• Significantly reduced time and labor spent on assesssments
• Objective and consistent assessment data
• A pavement management program is in place that includes historical knowledge of the road conditions

McMahon, a Bowman company, is a Michelin Better Roads Enterprise Partner. They have been delivering innovative transportation engineering, planning, design and technology solutions to their clients for almost 50 years.

As an Enterprise Partner, McMahon has access to Michelin Better Roads’ automated road assessment process and uses the objective road condition data to create comprehensive pavement management plans for their clients.

One of their clients, Plumstead Township, was eager to improve its pavement management plan. Plumstead Township in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, is a small suburban community with 14,021 residents and 73 centerline miles of local roads.

The township had two goals that it wanted to achieve with McMahon. First, they were interested in modernizing and streamlining their road assessment process, and second, they wanted to create a 10-year pavement plan.

Prior to engaging McMahon and Michelin Better Roads, Plumstead Township’s road assessments were completed by the township’s public works director. He used his results to determine what maintenance was needed on which roads and what the priorities should be.

Prior to engaging McMahon and Michelin Better Roads, Plumstead Township’s road assessments were completed by the township’s public works director. He used his results to determine what maintenance was needed on which roads and what the priorities should be.

As the public works director neared retirement, the biggest challenge the township faced was the loss of historical knowledge. Additionally, they needed to effectively document past maintenance work and set priorities moving forward.

Plumstead Township wanted a complete pavement management plan that evaluated current and future funding levels, made recommendations for long-term maintenance, and documented past and present improvements in an exportable format.

The Township decided to work with McMahon, a Bowman company, to develop a baseline pavement assessment of all the roads in the Township using Michelin Better Roads technology.

McMahon would then use the assessment, including the photo documentation, to establish a 10-year maintenance program with an estimated budget and a digital record of all known past maintenance.

Michelin Better Roads’ smartphone-based collection process, objective road ratings, and exportable data made it the ideal tool for the task.

Michelin Better Roads technology was able to greatly reduce the amount of time and labor needed to finish the township’s road assessment, especially when compared with their original method of performing a vehicular windshield survey with paper logs.

The results of the automated assessment were objective and consistent, as opposed to the personal and subjective findings of various individuals they had utilized in the past.

Finally, with McMahon’s engineering expertise and Michelin Better Roads technology, a pavement management program is now in place that will allow the public works director to transition into his new role without the loss of historical knowledge of the road conditions.

Engineers and public works departments can easily assess road conditions and develop cost-effective pavement management programs using Michelin Better Roads, helping local governments ensure their road budgets are effectively spent and properly allocated.

Using Michelin Better Roads, Enterprise Partner McMahon was able to provide a comprehensive pavement management plan and improve the operational processes for Plumstead Township, PA.

Plumstead Township, PA

“Their smartphone-based collection process, objective road ratings, and exportable data made it the ideal tool for the task.”

H. Scott Russell, P.E. Senior Project Manager, Plumstead Township

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