Transforming Road Infrastructure Management: A Multimodal Road Quality Rating System

Assessment of road infrastructure is very crucial for safe and efficient transportation systems. Current approaches are however time-consuming, labor-intensive, and not scalable. This paper proposes a Road Surface Quality Rating (RQR) System that makes use of real-time data from various sensors to evaluate the state of the roads. The system divides the road into different segments and assigns each road segment a quality score on a scale from 1 to 10 taking various factors that could affect the quality of road. The RQR system is conceptually designed for cloud-based deployment with GIS integration and crowd-sourced reports, enhancing scalability and adaptability of the system. A hazard alert system is also proposed, which will notify users of poor road conditions ahead based on computed RQR values using GIS-enabled platforms, thereby enhancing road user safety. This approach to road condition monitoring supports better maintenance planning, optimized route selection for commuters and logistics, and a significant shift from reactive to proactive infrastructure management leading to enhanced resource efficiency, minimized travel interruptions, and improved overall transportation resilience.