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Theresa ROMEllSenior Transportation PlannerMetropolitan TransportationCommission (MTC)(USA)Sui G TANProgram ManagerStreet Saver pavementmanagement softwareMetropolitan TransportationCommission (MTC)(USA)- --/ Preventive maintenanceRegional Asset Management Effortsand a Performance-based Approach toLocal Streets and Roads Funding AllocationGolden Gate BridgeOften when allocating funds to local agencies forstreet maintenance and rehabilitation, a metropolitanplanning agency (MPO) will employ a"fix-the-worst-street-first" approach or will allocatefunds based solely on which agency has theworst roads and thereby the greatest financialneed. If alternatively, an asset managementapproach can be adopted, the cost savings forthe region can be substantial. The objective ofthis article is to describe how the MetropolitanTransportation Commission (MTC) - the regionalplanning, programming and finance agencyfor the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area -successfully uses asset management at the regional level and includes preventivemaintenance practices as a performance measure for allocating federal funds tolocal agencies.Defining the ProblemMTC, recognizing the need to better documentthe regional, longer term needs of the local streetand road network, developed a network levelpavement management system in the mid-1980s.Its primary purpose was to documentthe aggregate need for local streetsand roads repairs, match this needagainst estimated revenues, and determinefunding shortfalls and their impacts.All 109 San Francisco Bay Arealocal jurisdictions plus 250+ jurisdictionsoutside of the region utilize MTC's pavementmanagement software, StreetSaver®.StreetSaver® uses a pavement conditionindex (PCi) that ranks pavement conditionson a 0 - 100 scale. The software allowsjurisdictions to inventory their street network,determine the maintenance needsof that network, and devise maintenanceprograms based on available revenuesand recommendations made by the software.Jurisdictions are required to submita copy of their StreetSaver® software databaseto MTC on a bi-ennial basis in order tobe certified to receive federal funding.This information allows MTC to documentboth the conditions and maintenance needsfor the entire region.Decades of neglect have led to the significantdeterioration of the San Francisco Bay Area 'sroadways. Insufficient maintenance fundingat all levels of government, has createdlarge shortfalls in a majority of jurisdictionswhere the cost of needed maintenancefar exceeds available funds.A comprehensive maintenance needs analysiscompleted in 2007 determined that the amountof funding requ ired to bring the region'slocal street and road networkup to an acceptable condition and maintain itthat way is approximately $34 billionover the next 25 years. The revenues that areprojected to be available to meet that need areonly $16 billion, leaving a funding shortfall »>europeanrosds review 1 B • Spring 2011 • RGRA ED