]. European road networks have kept growing in extension and the maintenance cost now accounts for a considerable part of Department of Transport budgets. In Spain 78% of last year��s road expenditure was assigned to road maintenance, of which 60% was used for road surface rehabilitation [2]. The road sector has started to consider useful handbook a new approach to road maintenance by adopting a ��preservation culture�� [3] which consists in immediately protecting structures once they have been constructed or renewed. Hence, there are well-known economic and safety reasons and a compromise of the institutions through a preventive maintenance. However, the problem persists as there is a lack of the required precise information about the road conditions.
In manual road inspection, raters go all over the road measuring its distress elements, Inhibitors,Modulators,Libraries but these surveys become too laborious and slow to allow an extensive assessment. These inspections are costly and Inhibitors,Modulators,Libraries risky for the personnel, due to traffic hazards. They also have problems associated with variability and repeatability resulting on inconsistencies Inhibitors,Modulators,Libraries in distress details. Therefore, manual road surveys do not allow one to carry out proper road maintenance. An automated distress detection system to quantify the quality of road surfaces and assist in prioritizing and planning the maintenance of the road network becomes essential. Thus, a preventive maintenance program including crack sealing operations will be feasible, achieving the goal of preserving the roads in good condition and extending their life.
Governments and institutions have made a great effort to accomplish the Inhibitors,Modulators,Libraries objective of achieving a high quality road network along the last decades. They are now, more than ever, fully aware of the need for adequate AV-951 road inspection and maintenance. Nonetheless, authorities are not properly carrying out these actions because of the fact that there is still a lack of suitable methods to assess the road conditions and perform management programs both effectively and efficiently. A poorly maintained road network exposes drivers to unacceptable health and safety risks. According to the ��Sustainable Roads and Optimal Mobility�� report elaborated by the European Union Road Federation [3] the percentages of reduction in fatal accidents due to better road infrastructure only in Belgium and Sweden, are, respectively, 50% and 59%.
Another report produced by the U.S. Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials [4] points out that only half of major US roads are in good condition due to costs related with www.selleckchem.com/products/Tipifarnib(R115777).html additional vehicle operations (approximately 280 � per year for the average driver) as well as repair, maintenance and constructions costs (1 � spent to keep a road in good shape saves 7 � on reconstruction).Periodic road inspections in order to have accurate and up-to-date information about the road surface condition are the most efficient way to maintain high road standards at the lowest price. Distress measurement is a cru