ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF ELEMENTS IN PAVEMENT DESIGN

As competition for transportation investment dollars increases, all levels of management are being encouraged to become more cost conscious. This need for economy has resulted in haphazard implementation of cost reduction measures such as lowering pavement thickness standards or postponing construction. However, unless all implications of these measures are properly quantified in terms of trade-offs between present and future costs, these measures may, in fact, result in even higher overall pavement expenditures. A systems methodology to enable quantification of the trade-offs between various cost components of a pavement and selection of an optimum investment policy for any given situation is described. Through comprehensive analyses of alternative pavement strategies, the methodology provides individual cost components and the total cost of each alternative. Initial capital cost, resurfacing cost, maintenance cost, traffic delay cost during future resurfacings, salvage return at the end of the analysis period, and user costs are discussed, and it is demonstrated that certain elements, such as user costs, can be highly significant. An example is given to illustrate that trade-offs between various aspects of design as reflected by these costs can be efficiently studied by the methodology. Use of this methodology will enable agencies to develop uniform policies for cost reduction measures and alternative pavement standards. /Author/

• Record URL:
  • http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1976/572/572-001.pdf
• Summary URL:
  • https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=ECONOMIC+ANALYSIS+OF+ELEMENTS+IN+PAVEMENT+DESIGN&author=R.+Kher&author=W.+Phang&author=R.+Haas&publication_year=1976
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0309024854
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Publication of this paper sponsored by Committee on Theory of Pavement Design. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
• Authors:
  • Kher, R K
  • Phang, W A
  • Haas, RCG
• Conference:
  • 54th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board
  • Location: Washington District of Columbia
  • Date: 1975-1-13 to 1975-1-17
• Publication Date: 1976

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 1-14
• Monograph Title: Pavement Design, Performance, and Rehabilitation
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 572
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Alternatives analysis; Economic analysis; Financial capital; Investments; Maintenance management; Pavement design; Policy; Resurfacing; Standards; Systems analysis; Traffic delays
• Uncontrolled Terms: Highway user costs; Maintenance costs
• Old TRIS Terms: Substitutes
• Subject Areas: Economics; Highways; Pavements; Policy;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00139558
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309024854
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Sep 16 1976 12:00AM