County Pavement Preservation Data Collection
Pavement preservation is a cost-effective, proactive approach for maintaining roadway infrastructure in a state of good repair. However, pavement preservation practices vary substantially across Iowa’s counties, cities, and agencies like the Iowa Department of Transportation due to differences in available resources, technical expertise, staffing levels, and operational constraints. Counties in particular often face significant challenges in identifying the most appropriate preservation treatments for specific pavement conditions. While generally open to adopting new materials, technologies, and preservation strategies, the performance outcomes of county-implemented treatments have not been systematically documented, standardized, or shared statewide. As a result, Iowa counties often lack access to historical performance data and lessons learned that could inform more confident, cost-effective decision-making. To address this gap, researchers at Iowa State University, in partnership with the Iowa County Engineers Association Service Bureau, have developed and are updating the Iowa Pavement Analysis Techniques (IPAT) tool with support from the Iowa Highway Research Board. Although the IPAT tool provides valuable decision-support capabilities, its effectiveness is fundamentally dependent on the availability, consistency, and quality of input data. The primary objective of this proposed study is to collect, standardize, and process pavement preservation and related data from all 99 Iowa counties to support and enhance preservation recommendations. The study will focus on a statewide collection of historic roadway physical and structural data, along with pavement condition, traffic, and pavement preservation treatment data for Iowa’s secondary paved road network. A web-based County Pavement Preservation Database Platform will be developed to store, manage, and visualize these datasets. The resulting statewide core dataset will enable the IPAT tool to provide county engineers with preservation options informed by both current conditions and historical county-level data—an integrated approach that has not previously been available in Iowa counties.
Language
- English
Project
- Status: Active
- Funding: $884,160.00
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Contract Numbers:
TR-849
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Sponsor Organizations:
Iowa Department of Transportation
800 Lincoln Way
Ames, IA United States 50010 -
Managing Organizations:
Iowa Department of Transportation
800 Lincoln Way
Ames, IA United States 50010 -
Project Managers:
Goetz, Vanessa
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Performing Organizations:
Center for Transportation Research and Education
2711 South Loop Drive, Suite 4700
Ames, IA United States 50010-8664 -
Principal Investigators:
Ceylan, Halil
- Start Date: 20260901
- Expected Completion Date: 20280901
- Actual Completion Date: 0
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Counties; Data collection; Databases; Pavement maintenance; Pavement performance
- Geographic Terms: Iowa
- Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Highways; Maintenance and Preservation;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 02001927
- Record Type: Research project
- Source Agency: Iowa Department of Transportation
- Contract Numbers: TR-849
- Files: RIP, STATEDOT
- Created Date: Sep 10 2026 11:43AM