Applying GIS to improve the efficiency of Highway Pavement Maintenance Management System-Case study on Hosanna – Doyogena – Durame Mazoriya

Digitizing the road information can enhance an improved standard to the working environment of people by enabling a flexible and easy database for users. Inventory management of road maintenance with a digitized system supports easy update of information and reduces time spent for extraction of required data. The study assessed road pavement condition and evaluated the road by pavement condition index, and used GIS to produce digital database of road distresses so that it enables to prioritize the sections of road pavement for maintenance based on the outcomes of GIS analyses. Pavement condition index was determined following Ethiopian road authority manual procedure and then, the data was transferred to GIS database. The spatial data was collected from the field by using GPS and then correlated in GIS with pavement condition index using join tool. The road was categorized under very poor pavement condition since the pavement condition index value of all sub-sections is below 35%. The GIS based analysis gave flexible system to prioritize the segments as per the budget available. GIS based PMMS provides very flexible, effective, easy and timely PMMS platform. It also provides maps that can facilitate decision making process for agencies because pavement distress is expressed by position, extent and severity and all these features can be presented in GIS maps better than manual methods.