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The pavement condition index (PCI) is a widely used numerical index for the evaluation of the structural integrity and operational condition of pavements. Estimation of the PCI is based on the results of a visual inspection in which the type, severity, and quantity of distresses are identified. The purpose of this study is to develop an alternative approach for forecasting the PCI using optimization techniques, including artificial neural networks (ANN) and genetic programming (GP). The proposed soft computing method can reliably estimate the PCI and can be used in a pavement management system (PMS) using simple and accessible spreadsheet softwares. A database composed of the PCI results of more than 1,250 km of highways in Iran was used to develop the models. The results showed that the ANN- and GP-based projected values are in good agreement with the field-measured data. In addition, the ANN-based …