Asset Management

Purpose of Asset Management

The primary purpose of asset management is to manage infrastructure.  It takes a strategic approach to transportation planning, one that looks at the entire road network rather than as individual projects in distinct jurisdictions.

The asset management system requires the collection of data.  The data allow transportation officials to monitor the transportation system and plan how to optimize the preservation, improvement and timely replacement of roads.  Instead of simply accounting for existing infrastructure, asset management strives to ensure the proper use and performance of those assets, a process that involves the continuous assessment of conditions and evaluation of trade-offs between different actions.

Over the last five years, staff of Region 2 Planning Commission has assisted the Michigan Department of Transportation in the collection of asset management data.  The process will continue in 2008 as federal aid roads throughout the Region will be surveyed for a sixth consecutive year.

The data collection effort was originally scheduled to take place over a three-year period.  However, the program was extended and will continue on a limited basis in the near future.  Funding beyond FY 2009 is not certain but some counties (e.g. Lenawee)  and local units of government (e.g. Adrian, Tecumseh, Jackson and Blissfield) are using the software to rate local roads.  Having established a base of information, MDOT will reduce the roads to be rated to 50% of the federal aid road inventory.

MDOT’s goal is to gain accurate road ratings.  To this end, they express the preference for the retention of the same raters from year-to-year, if possible.  MDOT also sponsors annual PASER training workshops which are put on in conjunction with Michigan Technological University.

2007 Asset Management Survey Data Collection

Data collection is currently limited to federal aid eligible roads (rating of local roads can be done at the option of local transportation agencies).  Federal aid eligible roads are defined as any public road or bridge that is eligible for federal aid to be spent for the construction, repair or maintenance of the particular facility.  There are 1,933 miles of federal aid eligible roads in the three-county region.  The mileage per county breaks down as follows:

Results

The following tables present the number of road miles by rating and the change in percentage per rating group for the last three years of the asset management rating system.