Florida Department of

TRANSPORTATION

Aviation and Spaceports Office

In 1992, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) implemented a Statewide Pavement Management Program (SPMP) to improve knowledge of pavement conditions at public airports in the Florida aviation system, identify maintenance needs at individual airports, automate information management, and establish standards to address future needs. Furthermore, this new program was aimed to assist airports comply with Public Law 103-305, which required airports establish an airfield pavement management program when applying for Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) funding. The 1992 SPMP also provided valuable information for establishing and performing pavement maintenance and rehabilitation (M&R).

The FAA requires airports using a Special Airport Improvement Program grant to develop an airfield pavement maintenance program (FAA Advisory Circular 150/5380-6B). The requirement includes using trained personnel to perform monthly Drive-By inspections. Also, a detailed inspection of airfield pavement must be conducted every three years if pavement deterioration is characterized in the form of a Pavement Condition Index (PCI) survey or at least once a year without using PCI. The PCI methodology helps accurately determine the pavement condition by identifying the type of distress, severity of the distress, and quantity of the distress, which is not required by other methods.  Conducting the detailed PCI inspections every three years will reduce the disruptions to airport operations when compared to performing annual inspections without PCI. Also, the PCI inspections will help airports predict future pavement conditions and help forecast future M&R and budgetary requirements. Airfield pavement inspections with PCI methodology is detailed in the American Society of Testing Materials (ASTM) D5340-03.

The goal of the SPMP is to provide participating public airports with the data necessary to prioritize pavement maintenance and rehabilitation, determine maintenance scheduling, performing material evaluations and supporting design considerations. In addition, the SPMP provides a recommended capital improvement plan which identifies current and future use, cost for M&R funding, and various funding scenarios that can be utilized by the airports.

Encouraged by the FAA to become a part of the nationwide pavement Global Information System (GIS), the FDOT Aviation and Spaceports Office has been working to incorporate the GIS onto the SPMS. The purpose is to take advantage of the latest technologies and software programs to upgrade and modernize our SPMP and link our program onto nationwide GIS. The Trimble GeoXM unit was used to locate the centroid of the sample units during the inspections. The GPS locations of the sample units will help the airports locate the sample units not only easier but also faster during their daily, monthly, annually, or three-year airfield pavement inspection. The FDOT Aviation and Spaceports Office also began using MicroPAVER, a non-proprietary software program, which is also recommended by the FAA.

To assure the success, the PCI detailed inspection process for the period 2005/2008 was divided into two phases. Phase I of the program (year 2005/2006) consisted of transferring all the detailed inspection data to MicroPAVER, reviewing and updating the entire system inventory from the airports and updating the network definition drawing for all airports. Phase II of the program (year 2006/2008) consisted of conducting training seminars for the airport personnel to provide training in Pavement Evaluation Procedures and to conduct detailed PCI inspections, data input and analysis, PMS customization, final drawing (Network Definition), and report preparation.

Since 2005, four airfield pavement inspection training sessions have been conducted. More than 100 personnel from Florida airports have been trained through these courses.

The field data collection process began on September 2006 at Ormond Beach Municipal airport and was finalized on December 2007 at Key West International airport.  The SPMP used all methodologies and procedures consistent with FAA’s AC 150/5380-7A, Airport Pavement Management Program, AC 150/5380-6B, Guidelines and Procedures for Maintenance of Airport Pavements, and ASTM D 5340-03, American Society Testing Method for Airport Condition Index Surveys.

A total of 85 airports, 53 General Aviation Airports (GA), 20 Reliever Airports (RL), and 12 Primary Airports (PR), were inspected.  Approximately 20 to 25 percent of the sample units were inspected at each airport. Some inspections were conducted at night in order to reduce the impact on daytime airport operations.

Approximately 292,000 square feet of airfield pavement was inspected during the inspections. The PCI minimum service level (MSL) desired for a runway at a primary, reliever and GA airport is 75; the minimum desired taxiway PCI for primary, reliever and GA airports is 70, 65, and 65 respectively. The average overall statewide runway and taxiway, PCI is 73 and 80 respectively.

The final report included a description of the Airport, pavement inventory, MicroPAVER summary reports, inspection results, network condition, maintenance and rehabilitation planning scenarios and cost, visual aids (e.g., charts and graphs illustrating the pavement conditions, deterioration rates, M&R cost, color maps representing the current and future PCI conditions, maintenance and rehabilitation), photos and recommendations as described in AC 150/5380-6 (current version). A copy of the final report was sent to the airport, the respective FDOT district office and to the FAA Airport District Office.

Airfield Pavement Management Program Website

FDOT is in the process of integrating pavement data into the Florida Airport Database (FAD). Airports will be able to view their pavement data by logging onto the FAD. The FAD contains the final inspection report for each airport, the current network definition, drawing, pavement condition and M&R map.

FDOT is also working on creating a library of distress photographs. Hundreds of distress photos with all the necessary notes, such as type of distresses and their severities etc. will be stored in the “Airfield Distresses Library” and will be posted on Aviation and Spaceports Office website in order to assist the airfield pavement inspectors conduct pavement inspections. In addition, ASTM manuals, pavement management training materials, the field manual, and useful links to other websites (ex FAA documents) will also be available at this website.

Conclusion

FDOT has received many satisfaction letters from the statewide airports showing their appreciation on how successful the inspections were conducted in 2006-2008. On behalf of the FDOT Central Aviation and Spaceports Office, as well as being the manager of this program, I would like to thank them for their supports. I would also like to express my sincere appreciation to all participating airports for their coordination during the field-data collection process and to The FDOT district offices for their vital role to accommodate the inspection activities at airports.  Continued participation and assistance will be an important contribution to this program. We anticipate the next round of PCI inspections will be conducted during the fiscal year of 2009/2010, which begins July 1, 2009.

If you have any questions, suggestions, or comments regarding the program, please contact Mr. Vu-Trinh, Airport Engineering Manager, at (850) 414-4510 or vu.trinh@dot.state.fl.us.