TAMC Treatment Definitions & Project Classification

Each year road agencies are required to submit data on their road and bridge projects to the Transportation Asset Management Council’s (TAMC) Investment Reporting Tool (IRT). This tool is the only way to submit treatment data. Agencies entering Road & Bridge project data into Roadsoft are able to export their road and project data to an importable file for the IRT. Act 51 Distribution and Reporting System is an additional system used to distribute Michigan Transportation Fund (MTF) payments every month. For more information and help with IRT and ADARS, see TAMC’s Training Opportunities web page.

Prior to submitting project data to the TAMC, agencies must define their applied treatments (also referred to as treatment mapping). Treatment mapping is the process of aligning agency treatments to the TAMC treatment categories in Roadsoft (see Define Treatments for TAMC for assistance with mapping treatments). The purpose of defining, or mapping, treatments is to prepare agency project data for a smooth transition into the Investment Reporting Tool (IRT). Michigan agencies potentially have unique treatments; this could easily add up to hundreds of treatments across the state. Too many unique values do not provide measurable reporting metrics.

Previously, the TAMC had identified a list of over seventy treatment categories that appeared in Roadsoft under two fields, TAMC Class and TAMC Treatment. To make the large amount of data the TAMC is receiving measurable; they have now approved a greatly reduced list of treatment categories. The following treatment categories--Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Heavy CPM, and Light CPM—consolidate the previously approved seventy categories. The new treatment categories are located under a single field in Roadsoft called TAMC Project Classification.

TAMC Defined Project Classifications

Reconstruction - Is the removal and replacement of the majority of the structure of a pavement. This would likely include additions to the base or sub-base of the road. An example of a reconstruction would be any treatment considered as extensive as a crush and shape with the addition of base materials, or the construction of a new road. In concrete pavements, reconstruction would include rubblizing or crushing existing concrete pavement surfaces for use as added base material followed by construction of a new concrete surfaces.

Rehabilitation - Is the salvage of the majority of the structure of the pavement, either by adding additional structural components (> 1.5” overlay) to replace failing ones, or by recycling structural components (crush and shape, warm in-place recycling) for the majority of the pavement. Generally speaking, rehabilitation will not include additions or replacement of base and/or subbase material other than recycling of failed layers. In concrete pavements, rehabilitation includes extensive full depth patching and limited full slab replacement or overlay with HMA would be included in this treatment type.

Heavy CPM - Is the bituminous surface treatments such as slurry seal, chip seal, or thin (< 1.5”) overlays designed to protect the pavement from water intrusion or environmental weathering without adding significant structural strength are included in this treatment. In concrete pavements, patching or repair that is less than 1/3 of the depth of the pavement (partial depth repair) would be included in this treatment.

Light CPM - Is the treatments primarily designed to seal isolated areas of the pavement from water (crack and joint sealing) or oxidation with limited surface thickness (fog seal). Generally speaking, light CPM will not provide a corresponding increase in PASER rating when applied.

Local agencies are still able to add and define their own treatments in Roadsoft. When agencies export their treatments the TAMC, the treatment names supplied by the agency appear under the RS Treatment column of the export.

TAMC Combined Treatment Guidance

The TAMC advises to report combined treatments applied during the same year of construction as a system in the highest category represented by the combined treatment. For example, report a chip seal (Heavy CPM) application with a fog seal (Light CPM) application as part of the treatment process in the same year as one Heavy CPM treatment.

Treatment Mapping Example

Shown below are examples of mapped treatments using TAMC’s new treatment categories.

Existing treatments are automatically mapped when updating to Roadsoft version 2017.4. A complete mapping list of previous TAMC treatments and classifications to the new classifications is located on the TAMC website.