Alaska's Geotechnical Asset Management Program
Statewide, Alaska
Evaluating a Rock Slope in Southeast Alaska
Unstable slopes often intersect critical infrastructure with annual losses estimated to approach four billion dollars nationwide. Transportation networks frequently suffer ill effects and incur significant costs caused by landslides and rockfall. The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (AKDOT&PF) developed a program that adheres to established asset management principles to systematically inventory unstable slope hazards, improve network resiliency, and minimize long-term costs. Like bridges and pavements, geotechnical assets are subject to deterioration and require active management, periodic maintenance, and targeted mitigation to control life cycle costs, maintain mobility, and reduce risk to life-safety.
The Geotechnical Asset Management (GAM) system developed by Landslide Technology for AKDOT&PF is the nation's first such program. It includes performance measures, condition assessments, and programmatic cost estimation for use in deterioration and investment models. This proactive program has surveyed 45% of AKDOT&PF’s total road miles, resulting in condition assessment of 1,636 slopes. All assets are evaluated within a consistent rubric of five condition states and are classified in terms of Good/Fair/Poor condition.
The active use of an extensive geotechnical asset database will ensure the Department can effectively track and manage their assets and properly incorporate the benefits of this system. To facilitate this, all the asset data is housed within AKDOT&PF’s Transportation GIS (TGIS) ArcGIS Online (AGOL) website. Housing the data on this site permits interactive use of the data, both online and on desktop GIS platforms. The AGOL database includes location and condition information of the inventoried rock and soil slopes, retaining walls, and material sources. Maps are interactive with zoom, filter, and other query capabilities. A publicly accessible AGOL application that summarizes AKDOT&PF’s program is available at http://arcg.is/1T9Zxcd.
Life cycle cost estimation and investment analysis was performed using first-of-its-kind condition-based programmatic cost estimation, deterioration rates and maintenance costs. These permit the Department to make informed decisions in terms of hazard, risk, and cost as stewards of the Public trust. This project has estimated that $1 spent on improving slope and wall conditions today not only pays for itself, but also returns an additional $1.06 (106% ROI) to the Department and road users.
A summary video of the project, commissioned by the Department, is below.
The Geotechnical Asset Management (GAM) system developed by Landslide Technology for AKDOT&PF is the nation's first such program. It includes performance measures, condition assessments, and programmatic cost estimation for use in deterioration and investment models. This proactive program has surveyed 45% of AKDOT&PF’s total road miles, resulting in condition assessment of 1,636 slopes. All assets are evaluated within a consistent rubric of five condition states and are classified in terms of Good/Fair/Poor condition.
The active use of an extensive geotechnical asset database will ensure the Department can effectively track and manage their assets and properly incorporate the benefits of this system. To facilitate this, all the asset data is housed within AKDOT&PF’s Transportation GIS (TGIS) ArcGIS Online (AGOL) website. Housing the data on this site permits interactive use of the data, both online and on desktop GIS platforms. The AGOL database includes location and condition information of the inventoried rock and soil slopes, retaining walls, and material sources. Maps are interactive with zoom, filter, and other query capabilities. A publicly accessible AGOL application that summarizes AKDOT&PF’s program is available at http://arcg.is/1T9Zxcd.
Life cycle cost estimation and investment analysis was performed using first-of-its-kind condition-based programmatic cost estimation, deterioration rates and maintenance costs. These permit the Department to make informed decisions in terms of hazard, risk, and cost as stewards of the Public trust. This project has estimated that $1 spent on improving slope and wall conditions today not only pays for itself, but also returns an additional $1.06 (106% ROI) to the Department and road users.
A summary video of the project, commissioned by the Department, is below.