Review of remote sensing methodologies for pavement management and assessment

Introduction: Evaluating the condition of transportation infrastructure is an expensive, labor intensive, and time consuming process. Many traditional road evaluation methods utilize measurements taken in situ along with visual examinations and interpretations. The measurement of damage and deterioration is often qualitative and limited to point observations. Remote sensing techniques offer nondestructive methods for road condition assessment with large spatial coverage. These tools provide an opportunity for frequent, comprehensive, and quantitative surveys of transportation infrastructure. Methods: The goal of this paper is to provide a bridge between traditional procedures for road evaluation and remote sensing methodologies by creating a comprehensive reference for geotechnical engineers and remote sensing experts alike. Results: A comprehensive literature review and survey of current techniques and research methods is provided to facilitate this bridge. A special emphasis is given to the challenges associated with transportation assessment in the aftermath of major disasters. Conclusions: The use of remote sensing techniques offers new potential for pavement managers to assess large areas, often in little time. Although remote sensing techniques can never entirely replace traditional geotechnical methods, they do provide an opportunity to reduce the number or size of areas requiring site visits or manual methods.