Joint optimization of pavement maintenance and resurfacing planning

This paper presents an analytical approach for joint planning of pavement maintenance and resurfacing activities that minimizes pavement lifecycle costs, including user, maintenance and resurfacing costs, for an infinite time horizon. The optimization problem is formulated as a nonlinear mathematical program with continuous pavement state and continuous time, and optimality conditions are derived. Managerial insights and practical implications are drawn from two realistic application scenarios, where the maintenance cost is either independent of or linearly dependent on pavement condition, to address impacts of routine maintenance activities on pavement resurfacing planning decisions. Numerical examples demonstrate clear trade‐offs between maintenance and resurfacing activities in terms of both pavement improvement effectiveness and costs. This paper shows that maintenance activities, if applied optimally, have the potential to significantly prolong pavement service life between consecutive rehabilitations and reduce overall pavement lifecycle costs.