Renan Filho: goal is to end 2024 with 80% of the road network in good or excellent classification

The Minister of Transport, Renan Filho, said that the government has brought forward for this year the goal of reaching 80% of the road network in a good or excellent classification. The previous deadline was until the end of 2026. If reached, it will be the highest level in the historical series of the Maintenance Condition Index (ICM), surveyed by the National Department of Transport Infrastructure (DNIT).

The promise was made at a press conference taking place this morning to review the department's actions and prospects for this year.

ICM data show that in 2016, the peak of the index, 68% of highways were classified as good or excellent. In 2022 it reached its worst level, standing at 52%. Last year, it rose to 67%. “This shows that infrastructure responds quickly to investments,” said Renan Filho.

Regarding the target for this year, the minister said that it is more optimistic than that projected by Dnit itself, which estimates around 75%. “In any case, throughout the year, we will have the best level of road network condition in the entire historical series,” he stated.

Methodology

The ICM is calculated based on a field survey, seeking to classify each segment into four categories: terrible, bad, fair or good. The ICM calculation is made up of the Paving Index – IP (pans, patches and cracks), which represents 70% of the final value, and the Conservation Index – IC (mowing, drainage, horizontal and vertical signage), which represents 30%. remaining.

On paved highway sections, the ICM is obtained by filming the highway with action cameras. In the office, these videos are processed using the DNIT-ICM software, developed by the Labtrans team at the Federal University of Santa Catarina. DNIT-ICM uses computer vision techniques and neural networks, and automates the detection of ICM constituent elements in videos.

All detected elements undergo manual post-processing in order to remove so-called false positives and, in the case of IC items, their qualitative analysis is also carried out. After completing these steps, the software generates a spreadsheet with the ICM results, individualized per kilometer, according to the DNIT standard.

For unpaved sections (and also paved sections when filming is impossible), an application for mobile devices called ICM mobile was developed (will be available soon).