What to Look for in a Pavement Management Program

When it comes to maintaining city streets and municipal roadways, choosing the right pavement management program isn’t just smart, it’s essential. Shrinking budgets, aging infrastructure, and increasing public scrutiny mean municipalities must make every dollar count. A data-driven pavement management program doesn’t just help you fix roads, it helps you plan smarter, spend wiser, and extend the life of your entire network.

But not all programs are created equal…

To truly make an impact, your pavement management program should offer more than just a report card. It should become a strategic partner in how you manage, maintain, and fund your roadway system.

Here are 5 important things to look for in a Pavement Management Program:

1. Comprehensive Pavement Condition Assessments

If you don’t know where your roads stand, you can’t plan where to go. That’s why a successful program starts with accurate, objective pavement condition assessments.

The best systems use advanced tools like video-based inspections, GIS-integrated data collection, and PCI (Pavement Condition Index) scoring to evaluate each road segment. This ensures consistency across your network and allows you to spot trends—like early signs of deterioration—before they become costly.

PMG’s approach, for instance, combines HD video, geolocated data points, and interactive segment maps so you can see the problem and understand the numbers behind it.

2. Data Transparency & Accessibility

Raw data is only valuable if it’s usable. Unfortunately, too many municipalities receive condition reports that live in static PDFs or complex spreadsheets that no one has time to interpret.

Look for a provider who gives you interactive tools, not just paperwork.

With platforms like RoadINsights™, you can visualize your entire road network, zoom into individual segments, toggle between different treatment maps, and even share this data with council members and the public. This type of accessibility builds internal alignment and public trust.

For example, remember Ms. Jackson, the resident who constantly complains about the condition of her road? With RoadINsights™, you can pull up her street on the map, review its condition data, and explain that while it may look worse to the eye, it’s not the right time to repair it. Her road is being monitored, and there’s a long-term strategy in place to preserve the entire network efficiently and cost-effectively.

This shifts the narrative from “why aren’t you fixing my street?” to “here’s how we’re protecting all our roads, including yours.” It’s all backed up with real data.

3. Custom Treatment & Repair Recommendations

No two cities are the same, and neither are their roads. A truly valuable pavement program offers tailored maintenance strategies that consider your city’s unique challenges like traffic load, climate, road material, and available funding.

Instead of generic fix lists, look for recommendations that help you apply the right treatment at the right time: from crack sealing and micro surfacing to full-depth repairs. PMG goes even further by modeling future outcomes based on different approaches, so you’re not just guessing—you’re planning.

4. Budget Planning & Optimization

Having a list of failing roads isn’t enough. What you really need is a roadmap that shows you how to repair those roads within your actual budget, and how that budget will impact network performance over time.

The right tools can show how different decisions will affect your road network over time. Whether you’re trying to stretch limited funds or decide when to take action, these insights help city leaders plan smarter, explain their choices clearly, and build trust with council members and residents.

5. Proven Experience with Municipalities

It’s important to consider who’s behind the program that your municipality is going to be utilizing. A flashy platform means nothing if the team behind it doesn’t understand how cities work.

You want a partner who speaks your language. A partner who knows how to prepare reports for council meetings, navigate procurement processes, and align with your city’s long-term infrastructure goals.

PMG has worked with municipalities of all sizes and understands the importance of balancing technical precision with practical implementation. From public Q&As to budget presentations, we support cities every step of the way.

More Than Just a Service

A pavement management program is more than a service, it’s a strategic asset. The right partner helps you turn road data into action, preserve infrastructure with confidence, and build a future-ready transportation system for your community.

If you’re interested in how PMG’s RoadINsights™ platform is helping municipalities all over the country, click here.