Upgrading Road Inspection and Maintenance Skills

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Evaluate pavement condition using structured inspection and assessment methods
• Prioritize maintenance and rehabilitation strategies based on performance, risk, and budget constraints
• Apply targeted repair and preservation techniques to extend pavement life and improve service levels
• Assess construction practices and inspection requirements to support durable, high-quality outcomes
• Integrate preventive maintenance into broader asset management and lifecycle planning decisions

Description

Maintaining roadway networks requires balancing performance, safety, and cost while managing aging infrastructure and increasing demand. Without a structured approach to inspection, maintenance, and rehabilitation, pavement deterioration can accelerate, leading to higher lifecycle costs, reduced service levels, and increased risk to users.

This course focuses on strengthening the practical skills required to evaluate pavement condition, prioritize interventions, and apply effective maintenance and preservation strategies. It emphasizes how inspection findings translate into informed decisions about repair methods, materials, and construction practices.

Through practical examples and applied frameworks, this course supports the development of consistent, defensible approaches to pavement management—enabling improved asset performance, optimized resource allocation, and more reliable long-term outcomes.

Who Should Attend

This course is designed for:

• Engineers and engineering technologists involved in roadway design, maintenance, or asset management
• Technical professionals responsible for pavement inspection, evaluation, or rehabilitation planning
• Municipal and transportation professionals managing roadway infrastructure and budgets
• Construction and inspection personnel overseeing roadway, sidewalk, and related infrastructure work
• Project managers and decision-makers responsible for infrastructure performance and lifecycle planning

Day I

Pavement Design 101

• Flexible and rigid pavement design 101
• Introduction to mechanistic-empirical design

Pavement Distress Evaluation

• Manual, semi-automated and automated
• Smoothness evaluation methods
• Surface texture and friction
• Structural capacity evaluation methods
• Impact of heavy load movements
• MIT Scan and Ground Penetrating Radar

Pavement Preservation

• Preservation planning and programming
• Life-cycle cost analysis

Repair Methods, Asphalt Concrete Pavements

• Crack sealing
• Patching
• Chip/slurry seals
• Micro-surfacing
• Thin hot-mix overlay
• High friction surfaces
• Hot in-place recycling
• Cold in-place recycling
• Expanded asphalt recycling

Repair Methods, Exposed Concrete Pavements

• Joint/crack sealing
• Surface texturization
• Slab stitching
• Load transfer restoration
• Diamond grinding
• Partial-depth repairs
• Full-depth repairs
• Under-slab sealing (grouting and foam)

Minimum Maintenance Standards

• Examples of maintenance types and procedures

Specifications

• Specification Types and Applications

Adjournment

Day II

Construction Inspection and Testing

• Asphalt concrete production and placement
• Concrete production and placement for roadways, curbs and sidewalks

Aggregates and Binders

• Properties and quality

Asphalt Mix Design

• Mix design basics
• Superpave

Asphalt Production and Delivery

• Asphalt plant types and operation
• Best practices for asphalt delivery

Paving and Compaction

• Asphalt paver components and operation
• Compaction equipment and operation
• Best practices for joint construction

Sidewalks and Recreational Trails

• Design
• Construction
• Management
• Maintenance

Design, Performance and Construction – Case Studies

Questions and Answers and Feedback to Participants on Achievement of Learning Outcomes

Concluding Remarks and Final Adjournment