--- title: "Maintenance, rehabilitation, reconstruction; evaluation methods" subject: "Transportation Engineering II" chapter: 4 key: "semester_7/transportation_engineering_ii:maintenance-rehab-reconstruction-pavement-evaluation" source: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_7/transportation_engineering_ii/maintenance-rehab-reconstruction-pavement-evaluation site: BCT Engineering --- # Maintenance, rehabilitation, reconstruction; evaluation methods Transportation Engineering II · Chapter 4: Highway Maintenance, Repair, and Rehabilitation - Asked in: 2075 Asoj, 8 marks - Video: [Type of Road Maintenance | What is Corrective & Preventive Road Maintenance](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BkpctAuQ6s) — Bridge Construction Training Institute - Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort) on 2026-10-14 - Page: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_7/transportation_engineering_ii/maintenance-rehab-reconstruction-pavement-evaluation - Whole chapter: https://www.bctengineer.com/md/semester_7/transportation_engineering_ii/chapter-4 ## Question Describe briefly maintenance, rehabilitation and reconstruction. Describe the methods of pavement evaluation. ## Answer #### Maintenance, rehabilitation and reconstruction | Term | Meaning | Examples | Aim | |---|---|---|---| | **Maintenance** | Regular works to keep the road in serviceable condition without improving the original design | Patching, crack sealing, drain cleaning, resealing, regravelling | Preserve the existing condition and slow deterioration | | **Rehabilitation** | Works that restore the structural strength and extend the life of an existing pavement, usually after major distress | Structural overlay (by deflection/IRC:81), recycling, partial reconstruction of failed areas, widening | Raise the load capacity to carry the traffic of the next design period | | **Reconstruction** | Complete or near-complete removal and rebuilding of the pavement layers (and sometimes the geometry) at the end of its life | Removing all pavement layers and rebuilding to a new design | Provide a new pavement with a full design life | #### Methods of pavement evaluation **Pavement evaluation** is the systematic collection and analysis of data on the present condition of a pavement (surface and structure), so that the need for maintenance, strengthening or reconstruction can be decided and priorities set. **Functional evaluation** (ride quality and safety) - **Roughness** - measured by bump integrator, MERLIN, Roadroid (smartphone) or profilometer, and expressed as the International Roughness Index (IRI, m/km); IRC:SP:16 gives evenness limits, and Nepal DoR uses roughness in its road maintenance management system. - **Skid resistance** - pendulum tester (British Pendulum Number), skid trailer. - **Surface distress** - visual condition survey of cracks, potholes, rutting, ravelling, bleeding and patching (IRC:82 and the Nepal DoR condition survey). **Structural evaluation** (load capacity) - **Deflection tests** (non-destructive) - Benkelman beam (IRC:81), Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD), Lacroix deflectograph. - **Destructive tests** - test pits and cores to find layer thickness, density and subgrade CBR; Dynamic Cone Penetrometer (DCP) for in-situ strength. - **Other tests** - Ground Penetrating Radar (layer thickness, non-destructive), plate load test on exposed layers, and back-calculation of layer moduli from FWD data. **Use**: the results give a condition index, which is combined with traffic to select the treatment: routine maintenance, periodic maintenance, overlay (strengthening) or reconstruction. ## Check yourself The answer's key points as multiple-choice questions, with the correct option and why. 1. Which best describes maintenance? A. Regular works that keep the road serviceable without improving the original design B. Complete rebuilding of all layers C. Raising load capacity to a new design for the next period D. Widening the carriageway Answer: A. Maintenance preserves existing condition and slows deterioration without changing the design. (Key point: Maintenance) 2. A structural overlay on a distressed pavement to restore strength and extend life is an example of: A. Maintenance B. Rehabilitation C. Reconstruction D. Routine patching Answer: B. Rehabilitation restores structural strength and extends life, e.g. structural overlay, recycling, partial reconstruction. (Key point: Rehabilitation) 3. What defines reconstruction? A. Sealing cracks and cleaning drains B. Complete or near-complete removal and rebuilding of pavement layers at end of life C. Applying a fog seal D. Thin overlay for surface renewal Answer: B. Reconstruction removes and rebuilds the pavement with a new design to give full design life. (Key point: Reconstruction) 4. Pavement evaluation is divided into which two groups? A. Routine and periodic B. Functional and structural C. Destructive and emergency D. Surface and subgrade design Answer: B. Functional (ride and safety) and structural (load capacity) evaluation. (Key point: Pavement evaluation methods) ## Related in Transportation Engineering II - [Maintenance, rehabilitation, reconstruction; rigid failures](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Ftransportation_engineering_ii%3Amaintenance-rehab-reconstruction-rigid-failures) — Transportation Engineering II, chapter 4 - [Maintenance vs rehabilitation; flexible failure causes](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Ftransportation_engineering_ii%3Amaintenance-vs-rehabilitation-flexible-failure-causes) — Transportation Engineering II, chapter 4 - [Repair vs rehabilitation; rigid pavement failures](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Ftransportation_engineering_ii%3Arepair-vs-rehabilitation-rigid-failure-types) — Transportation Engineering II, chapter 4 - [Pavement evaluation; flexible failure types and causes](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Ftransportation_engineering_ii%3Apavement-evaluation-flexible-failure-causes) — Transportation Engineering II, chapter 4 - [Pavement evaluation](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Ftransportation_engineering_ii%3Apavement-evaluation-explain) — Transportation Engineering II, chapter 4 - [Bituminous maintenance and rigid pavement failures](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Ftransportation_engineering_ii%3Abituminous-maintenance-rigid-failures) — Transportation Engineering II, chapter 4, asked 2×