At the German Road and Traffic Congress (Deutscher Straßen- und Verkehrskongress), held from 14 to 16 October 2026 in Wiesbaden, IMC contributed to two scientific papers developed in collaboration with project partners from the Steinbeis Transferzentrum and TU Dresden. Both contributions addressed important challenges in modern road infrastructure management and were published in the official conference proceedings of the Forschungsgesellschaft für Straßen- und Verkehrswesen (FGSV).
Comparability of Municipal Road Condition Assessment Methods
The first contribution, “Methoden der Zustandserfassung und -bewertung von kommunalen Straßen – Anforderungen an die Vergleichbarkeit”, presented by Dr.-Ing. Tim Blumenfeld (IMC), examined the comparability of different road condition assessment methods.
Municipal road networks are assessed using various approaches, including automated measurements, image-based inspections, and visual assessments. When different methods are used within or across successive survey campaigns, ensuring comparable results is essential for reliable condition evaluations and long-term monitoring.
The research investigated key factors influencing comparability throughout the entire road condition assessment process, including data quality, spatial referencing, section segmentation, and data aggregation. Analyses at both individual road section and network levels revealed method-dependent differences in assessment results. Simulations also demonstrated that spatial referencing inaccuracies can have a particularly strong influence on shorter evaluation sections.
The findings highlight the importance of considering the entire assessment process when establishing requirements for standardization, consistent spatial referencing, and quality assurance in municipal road condition surveys.
Integration of Structural Pavement Assessment into Pavement Management Systems
The second contribution, “Integration der RSO in ein PMS”, investigated the integration of structural pavement assessments based on the draft German RSO Asphalt guidelines into pavement management systems (PMS).
Using an extended database, the research developed and tested a probabilistic approach for incorporating structural pavement condition and estimated remaining service lives into network-level pavement management calculations.
The study also investigated improved material modelling approaches and the potential use of neural networks to estimate remaining service lives for road sections with incomplete data.
The results confirmed the general feasibility of integrating RSO Asphalt assessments into PMS calculations. Considering structural remaining service lives tended to increase the proportion of maintenance measures targeting structural pavement rehabilitation. The research also identified further requirements concerning data management, quality assurance, pavement sampling, and modelling assumptions before practical implementation.
Advancing Research-Based Road Infrastructure Management
Both contributions reflect IMC’s involvement in research aimed at improving the reliability of road condition assessments and advancing data-driven pavement management. While the first study addresses the comparability and quality of road condition information, the second contributes to a more comprehensive consideration of structural pavement condition in maintenance planning.
The congress provided an excellent opportunity to present and discuss these findings and exchange perspectives with experts from research, industry, and road administrations.
We would like to thank our project partners from the Steinbeis Transferzentrum for the successful collaboration and the Forschungsgesellschaft für Straßen- und Verkehrswesen (FGSV) for the outstanding organization of this highly successful event, bringing together professionals from across the road and transport sector.
Publications
Blumenfeld, T., Stöckner, M., Schiffmann, F., Wachsmann, A., & Stöckner, U. (2026). Methoden der Zustandserfassung und -bewertung von kommunalen Straßen – Anforderungen an die Vergleichbarkeit. Kongressband zum Deutschen Straßen- und Verkehrskongress 2026. FGSV Verlag.
Stöckner, M., Zeißler, A., Wachsmann, A., Blasl, A., Schiffmann, F., & Blumenfeld, T. (2026). Integration der RSO in ein PMS. Kongressband zum Deutschen Straßen- und Verkehrskongress 2026. FGSV Verlag.
