High accuracy monitoring system to estimate forest road surface degradation on horizontal curves

Well-maintained pavements reduce occurring severe accidents on horizontal curves. For this reason, the monitoring and evaluation of pavement conditions are important. This study evaluates pavement conditions considering volumetric degradation or displacement on 11 horizontal curves in forest roads, depending on meteorological conditions, traffic effects, and curve parameters. Within this context, pavement displacement (degradation) was investigated and measured with terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) for a year on a monthly basis. In this study, two multiple regression models were developed to estimate the degradation values of a forest road. According to model 1, which was developed to estimate the loss volume values, the adjusted R² was 0.658. For model 2, which was developed to estimate the gain volume values, the adjusted R² was 0.490. Validations of models were evaluated with different statistical tests. In conclusion, volumetric degradation can be calculated with TLS-based data. Forest road designers should determine horizontal curve characteristics, taking into consideration the pavement degradation and traffic safety.