Retaining walls, embankments, slopes, and subgrades are types of geotechnical assets that can adversely influence the performance of transportation and other infrastructure systems, particularly with increasing age as deterioration and the consequences from deferred maintenance are realized.

Implementing asset management practices for these assets enables an owner to measure risk and manage the whole life of the asset in consideration of performance expectations, risk tolerance and at the lowest life-cycle cost.

The goal of any asset management plan is to logically align design, maintenance, and upgrade decisions with the goals and objectives of the asset owner. While bridge and pavement conditions receive much of the media attention and Federal legislative directives, the performance of all assets is important to the efficient operation of infrastructure systems. Further, there now are more retaining walls than bridges in many transportation agencies and the current Federal authorization acknowledges this fact with the suggestion that assets other than bridges and pavements be included asset management plans.

This webinar will introduce the concepts of asset management for retaining walls, slopes, embankments, and subgrades and introduce  an example workflow and tools for starting asset management. The asset management processes and tools were developed as part of the Transportation Research Board study that resulted in NCHRP Research Report 903, released in May 2019. Within this study, a synthesis of U.S. and international practices was conducted as well as case study interviews with state transportation departments, pipeline operators, and Highways and Railways in the U.K. to understand barriers to starting and other implementation frameworks.