An essential measure of a nation’s development is its road network. Thus, maintaining road infrastructure promotes economic growth by improving connectivity and accessibility, reducing vehicle operating costs, and ensuring safer travel. In South Africa, many communities struggle to access public services due to the deteriorated state of roads. Provincial and municipal road networks are currently facing a maintenance crisis, evidenced by an R197 billion backlog, despite the national highway system remaining of relatively high quality. Additionally, artificial intelligence and related disruptive technologies have transformed the scientific domain; yet, civil engineering and infrastructure management, specifically, are trailing behind the technology adoption trajectory. Currently, there is scant information regarding the utilization of technology in road maintenance. To derive profound insights from current research and offer guidance for subsequent investigations, this study aims to assess the potential implications of simulation modeling for enhancing road network maintenance. Among the many simulation methods, system dynamics (SD) has been selected for this study due to its ability to provide insights into the challenges of dynamic complexity, a capability demonstrated through the application of the system dynamics methodology.The study successfully achieved its objective by conducting a systematic literature review and a content analysis regarding the utilization of simulation modeling in road maintenance. The findings revealed that effective road maintenance management can be realized through the integration of artificial intelligence and the application of system dynamics, as simulation enables authorities to test different maintenance systems in a virtual environment to identify the most efficient approach before implementation.

Keywords

Artificial intelligence, Simulation modeling, System dynamics, and Road maintenance.