Chapter 8: Visual condition surveys

Visual condition is an important facet of pavement engineering. Data obtained from surveys can be utilised to drive maintenance scheme identification and prioritisation, support condition analysis, inform network-level performance monitoring and support detailed maintenance design solutions. Visual data is not only useful to understand the current condition of an asset, it can also be used in forward projection modelling of the surface and structural condition.

The first indication of existing or latent maintenance problems can often be found by a detailed examination of the surface. When assessing a pavement, it is necessary to record the type and severity of defects in respect of the pavement type; a particular defect in one pavement construction type may indicate a significant issue, whereas the same defect in a different construction may not have the same significance. For example, when viewed by an experienced engineer, a crack in an asphalt surface may indicate the onset of future problems, whereas in a concrete slab, especially an unreinforced one, it may indicate a structural failure. For this reason, the various types of pavements must be considered separately.