One of the four seminars at the 75th jubilee of the Danish Road Institute addresses the work of the Institute within the field of operation of roads, which primarily covers pavement condition measurements and modelling of pavement deterioration. The primary goal is to give the road user a safe and comfortable trip with good passability. These measures must be reached within the framework of various legal requirements, economic and technical possibilities as well as wishes from politicians, the road users and the roads’ neighbours. As can be seen there are many (often diverging) interests in the running of roads and this will be increased in the coming years. With increased traffic on the roads there will be an increasing requirement and wish for more focus on maintenance of road pavements and at the same time, it will become more difficult to work on the road. The Danish Road Institute contributes to the knowledge on the operation of roads through own work, co-operation with the Danish road sector and participation in international research projects. Distribution of knowledge has high priority, which means that the Institute’s employees continuously try to pass on knowledge to others and at the same time are aware of the latest knowledge which could be used in the Danish road sector. The efforts of the Danish Road Institute regarding the running of roads is aimed primarily at pavements where we develop tools and methods which can make the work in Danish road administrations more effective and where we also act as the most important supplier of pavement measurements and condition surveys in Denmark.