MAINTENANCE COSTS

THE VALUE OF MAINTENANCE COSTS WITHIN GOVERNMENT UNITS SUCH AS COUNTIES AND STATES, LIES IN THE EXTENT TO WHICH THEY MAY BE EMPLOYED FOR FIVE MAIN PURPOSES: (1) AS GUIDES FOR ESTIMATING PROBABLE FUTURE EXPENDITURES, (2) AS GAUGES OF EFFICIENCY, (3) AS MEANS FOR ASCERTAINING THE DEGREE OF ECONOMY IN EXPENDITURE, (4) AS RECORDS IN THE ECONOMIC LIFE OF THE SURFACE, AND (5) AS FACTORS IN THE DESIGN OF SURFACES FOR CONSTRUCTION OR RECONSTRUCTION. ATTEMPTS TO COMPARE MAINTENANCE COSTS IN DIFFERENT JURISDICTIONS, SUCH AS QUALITY OF MAINTENANCE ACCOUNTING METHODS, EQUIPMENT, TRAFFIC, WIDTH, AND CLIMATE ARE DESCRIBED. BLANCHARD ASKS HOW FAR BISHOP HAS GONE IN INVESTIGATING THE COST OF MAINTENANCE OF CONCRETE PAVEMENTS. BISHOP'S REPLY IS THAT THE GRAVEL ROAD IS USED TO ILLUSTRATE THE WIDE VARIATIONS IN COSTS. BLANCHARD HOPES THAT THE COMMITTEE CAN DEVISE A UNIVERSALLY USABLE METHOD SO THAT MAINTENANCE COSTS MAY BE EQUITABLY COMPARED. MCKAY THINKS THAT THE DIFFERENTIAL BETWEEN THE PAVEMENT LIVES IS THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR. AGG POINTS OUT THAT MAINTENANCE COSTS COULD BE RELATED TO THE DENSITY OF TRAFFIC ON THE HIGHWAY.

  • Record URL:
  • Supplemental Notes:
    • Vol 10, pp 26-30; part of Report of Committee on Maintenance. 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:
    • Bishop, H K
    • Blanchard, A H
    • Agg, T R
    • McKay, J G
  • Publication Date: 1931

Media Info

  • Media Type: Digital/other
  • Monograph Title: Proceedings of the Tenth Annual Meeting of the Highway Research Board Held at Washington, D.C. December 11-12, 1930
  • Serial:

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 00218638
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Files: TRIS, TRB
  • Created Date: Jun 1 1971 12:00AM