Modern Project Prioritization for Transportation Investments

Project prioritization among transportation agencies has always been an evolving practice. At its core, it means setting goals and aligning decision-making processes to meet those goals. This study is aimed at making that process easier. For this study, the team reviewed project prioritization programs at 21 transportation agencies, including 14 state departments of transportation (DOTs) and 7 metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), through a combination of interviews, online questionnaire, and publicly available written documentation. Some key lessons came from a case study of Virginia’s SMART SCALE program, which has resulted in lower average project costs and funding for a broad range of multimodal projects. The main findings can be summarized in terms of three important opportunities in project prioritization: (1) establishing flexible funding programs, (2) evaluating key outcomes, and (3) maximizing benefits per dollar spent.

• Record URL:
  https://ctedd.uta.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Noyce_ProjectPrioritization_Report_CTEDD.pdf
• Record URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/56131
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This document was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation, University Transportation Centers Program.
• Corporate Authors:

  University of Wisconsin, Madison

  Traffic Operations and Safety Laboratory, 1415 Engineering Drive
  Madison, WI  United States  53706

  University of Wisconsin, Madison

  State Smart Transportation Initiative
  1180 Observatory Drive
  Madison, WI  United States  53706

  Center for Transportation, Equity, Decisions & Dollars (CTEDD)

  University of Texas at Arlington
  Arlington, TX  United States  76019

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Noyce, David
  • 0000-0001-5887-8391
  • McCahill, Chris
  • 0000-0003-1823-633X
  • Sundquist, Eric
  • 0000-0001-8171-5400
  • Chitturi, Madhav
  • 0000-0003-0580-3454
• Publication Date: 2021-2-17

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Edition: Final Report
• Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 39p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Case studies; Decision making; Financing; Investments; Metropolitan planning organizations; State departments of transportation; State of the practice; Strategic planning; Transportation planning
• Geographic Terms: Virginia
• Subject Areas: Planning and Forecasting; Transportation (General);

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01769521
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: CTEDD 019-19
• Contract Numbers: 69A3551747134
• Files: UTC, NTL, TRIS, ATRI, USDOT
• Created Date: Apr 19 2021 9:39AM