Improved Methodology for Benefit Estimation of Preservation Projects

This research report presents an improved process for evaluating the benefits and economic tradeoffs associated with a variety of highway preservation projects. It includes a summary of results from a comprehensive phone survey concerning the use and application of the software developed by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), known as the Highway Economic Requirement System (HERS-ST). This national survey revealed that only a few states utilize this software in evaluating highway preservation projects and revealed an existing need to bridge pavement management and economic impact analyses in the evaluation of highway preservation projects. This research project developed a supplemental software application tool within Excel to improve the HERS-ST software and enhance the capabilities of evaluating highway preservation project analyses. This software application, the HERS-ST Benefit Application Tool (HERS-ST-BAT), has been developed to enhance and improve upon the project evaluation process. By combining HERS-ST-BAT and HERS-ST, the analyst is able to provide estimates for a variety of regional-level agency and user costs associated with preservation programs and more effectively consider different investment alternatives. Three separate preservation project case studies are selected to apply the HERS-STBAT and detailed results presented.  The full report is on the Washington State DOT web site at: https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/research/reports/fullreports/877-1.pdf