Keith Browning, a road engineer with the Kansas Association of Counties, spoke Tuesday with the Crawford County Commission about a new pavement management system. Browning, recently retired as the director of Douglas County Public Works with over 25 years of experience, facilitates communication and education between counties and the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) on road issues and transportation matters. “I am trying to encourage this around the state,” said Browning. “A lot of money is spent to maintain our roads, and the goal is to have the best pavements possible with the resources available.” According to Browning, his system is simply a spreadsheet program designed to optimize maintenance funds and influence short and long-term budget needs. By breaking up each road into smaller segments determined by its shape, structure, amount and type of usage, county road crews can track the amount of maintenance required for each segment, which can vary in length between a few hundred feet to several miles.
Source: Morning Sun
