Economic Analysis of Highway Design Exception Projects

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Economic Analysis of Highway Design Exception Projects

Jiang, Yi / Ma, Yan / Li, Shuo / Zhao, Guangyuan / He, Xiaoming

For various reasons, it may be necessary to design a section of highway with substandard values for some elements. Such design exceptions require appropriate assessment and justification of the potential impacts to highway safety and operations. It is necessary to conduct economic analyses for proposed design exception projects to compare with the standard designed projects. An economic analysis method was developed to conduct benefit-cost evaluations for design exception highway projects. The method considers life-cycle-costs as well as life-cycle-benefits resulting from a proposed built project in terms of monetary values. Agency costs are estimated by engineers or designers based on past experience, bid prices, design specifications, materials costs, and other information. Travel time and delay costs are usually valued as a percentage of average personal wages. Accident or crash costs are the monetary values for fatalities and injuries associated with crashes. The vehicle operating costs are attributed to the changes in highway speeds, traffic congestion, pavement surface, and other conditions that affect vehicle fuel consumption and wear and tear. With this analysis method, engineers will be able to conduct benefit-cost analysis efficiently and accurately for design exception projects.