An analytical solution for the finite-horizon pavement resurfacing planning problem

This paper presents an analytical approach for planning highway pavement resurfacing activities in the case of continuous pavement state and continuous time. It solves for the optimal resurfacing frequency and intensity that minimize life-cycle costs in a finite horizon. Optimality conditions are derived analytically, and a simple algorithm is developed to solve for the exact optimal solution. The optimal resurfacing strategy is found to be consistent with findings previously obtained by using an approximate approach and the strategy obtained for the infinite-horizon problem.