Evaluation of Road Pavement Condition Using the Pavement Condition Index (PCI) Method: A Case Study of the Taebenu Road Section in Kupang City

Abstract

Road pavement inevitably deteriorates under repeated traffic loading, drainage deficiencies, and climatic exposure, requiring systematic condition assessment to guide maintenance priorities. This study aims to evaluate the pavement condition of the Taebenu road section in Kupang City using the Pavement Condition Index (PCI) method and to formulate priority-based maintenance recommendations. A field distress survey was conducted along 3.473 km (STA 0+000–3+473), divided into four sample units of 1 km each (the last unit 473 m), following Shahin's (1994) visual survey procedure. Density, deduct value (DV), total deduct value (TDV), and corrected deduct value (CDV) were calculated for each segment to obtain the PCI score. The results show that PCI values ranged from 35 (Poor) to 78 (Very Good) across the four segments, with an overall average PCI of 56.75, classified as Fair. Segment STA 2+000–3+000 recorded the lowest PCI (35) due to a high density of Medium-severity alligator cracking and High-severity potholes, making it the top priority for rehabilitation. These findings indicate that segment-level PCI assessment reveals critical conditions that a single road-average value can obscure, which is essential for cost-effective pavement management planning. This study contributes an empirically grounded, segment-based PCI application that can support local road authorities in prioritizing maintenance budgets for urban roads in the Nusa Tenggara Timur region.