NRPC partners with municipalities to deliver Road Surface Management System (RSMS) projects that assess the condition of town-maintained roads and support long-term, cost-effective pavement planning. Each RSMS project provides a data-driven, 10-year strategy to help towns repair, maintain, and rebuild their road networks efficiently.

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Cost-effective preservation efforts, when done at the right time in a road’s lifespan,
can prevent more expensive repairs that are otherwise unavoidable if road surfaces are neglected.

RSMS Schedule

NRPC strives to keep all RSMS assessments current.  To that end, we have planned the following rolling schedule of updates through calendar year 2036.  Each town's position along the timeline indicates the year in which NRPC anticipates the start of RSMS field data collection.

RSMSTimeline

More about RSMS

A core principle of RSMS is that effective road management requires attention to roads in all condition ranges, not just those in the worst shape. By investing in preventive and preservation treatments, towns can keep good roads in good condition and avoid the high costs of full reconstruction in the future.
NRPC works with towns to evaluate current pavement conditions and develop customized paving scenarios based on available budgets and priorities. These scenarios allow communities to:

  • Compare different maintenance and investment strategies
  • Evaluate long-term costs and benefits
  • Support funding discussions with clear, objective data
The goal is to help town officials make informed decisions that improve road conditions while reducing long-term costs.

Technical Approach to RSMS

RSMS projects use the New Hampshire Statewide Asset Data Exchange System (SADES), developed by the University of New Hampshire Technology Transfer Center (UNHT2) in partnership with NHDOT. Since 2014, UNHT2 has supported all nine New Hampshire Regional Planning Commissions in providing RSMS assessments statewide.
NRPC staff conduct a windshield survey of all paved, town-maintained roads. During this survey, staff document pavement defects such as cracking, rutting, and potholes, measure pavement width, and coordinate with local public works staff to identify problem areas.

Survey results are used to calculate a Pavement Condition Index (PCI) score for each road segment. PCI values range from 0 to 100 and provide a standardized measure of pavement condition.
Using PCI scores and SADES modeling tools, NRPC and town staff develop forecasted repair scenarios. These scenarios estimate how pavement conditions will change over time and project the costs of different repair strategies, helping towns plan ahead with confidence.