RCW 46.68.090 authorizes the county road administration board to adopt rules for administering the county arterial preservation account, including the requirement that each county implement a pavement management system. This chapter outlines the method by which the use of a pavement management system will be assured.

A pavement management system (PMS) is a systematic method used to manage the preservation, rehabilitation, and maintenance of paved road systems by analyzing pavement life cycles, to assess overall system performance and costs, and to determine the alternative strategies and costs necessary to prevent significant road deterioration. A key element of a PMS is its ability to provide pavement preservation alternatives based upon a predictive pavement deterioration model.

A pavement management system shall be used by all counties to guide the pavement preservation and rehabilitation activities on all county paved collector and arterial roads. Beginning January 1, 1996, each county shall utilize a computer-based PMS meeting the requirements of WAC 136-70-040 on all county paved collector and arterial roads in order to retain eligibility for CAPP funds. Application of the PMS to the local access system will not be required to retain eligibility for CAPP funds.

Each county's PMS shall meet the following minimum standards:

(1) All county jurisdiction paved collectors and arterials, as defined by the most recently approved county road log as described in chapter 136-60 WAC, shall be surveyed for visual pavement distress at least biennially. Distress rating information must be keyed to the county road log by both road number and mileposts.

(2) All visual distresses (or defects) for both flexible and rigid pavements, both in severity and extent, shall be as defined within the "Pavement Surface Condition Rating Manual" (March 1992, produced by the Washington state transportation center in cooperation with the northwest pavement management systems users group and the Washington state department of transportation). Only those distresses noted as "core program defect" are required to be surveyed. Measurement may be at the project, segment, or sample unit level. Measurement for each distress will be by one of the following:

(a) Selection of the most predominant severity and extent combination; or

(b) Determination of the extent percent of each level of severity.

Measurement may be by a manual or automated visual condition rating process. The distress information will be converted to a pavement condition rating in accordance with a standard deduct matrix or continuous deduct value curves as provided by the county road administration board. Alternate deduct matrices may be used by a county for internal management analyses. Alternate distress determination and evaluation methodologies may be used if approved by the county road administration board in accordance with WAC 136-70-050. The PMS shall provide for the recording and storage of pavement resurfacing, rehabilitation and reconstruction history data, including surfacing and base layer types and thicknesses, and year of application. Counties will not be required to determine such information for any work done prior to the county's implementation date.

(3) The PMS shall include a future pavement condition prediction model that uses the periodic pavement condition distress data to forecast future pavement condition and to determine an estimate of service life.

(4) The PMS shall provide for annual downloading to the county road administration board of one of the following for all paved collectors and arterials surveyed for pavement condition in the previous twelve months:

(a) The individual pavement distresses;

(b) The resultant pavement condition rating based on the standard deduct matrix provided by the county road administration board; or

(c) The resultant pavement condition rating for an approved alternative PMS as described in WAC 136-70-050.

Such downloading shall be called the pavement condition data file. It shall be keyed to the county road log, and shall be transmitted in the electronic medium and format specified by the county road administration board, along with the annual road log update required by chapter 136-60 WAC.

Alternative PMS distress determination and evaluation methodologies, processes or systems may be used if they yield pavement condition ratings comparable to the process described in WAC 136-70-040(2). Counties intending to use an alternative process must satisfactorily demonstrate to the county road administration board that the alternative process is based on sound pavement engineering principles and is comparable in quality and scale thorough research results, documented conversion equations, statistical sampling, or other methods.

The county road administration board shall maintain a pavement condition data file, organized by county, containing the pavement condition ratings as provided annually by each county.

On an annual basis, beginning in calendar year 1993, the executive director of the county road administration board shall review the implementation of and, beginning in calendar year 1995, the compliance with, the requirements of WAC 136-70-040 and report the results to the county road administration board.

To assist each county to meet its eligibility requirements, the county road administration board shall provide PMS software, application and training.

The results and/or data from the individual or collective county pavement management systems will not be used to distribute CAPA funds nor to establish priorities for specific projects or otherwise alter the statutory fund distribution. Said results and/or data will be used to evaluate regional or statewide collector and arterial preservation and rehabilitation needs and to demonstrate compliance with the enabling legislation.