Title: Assessing Investment Strategies on Existing Regional Highway Systems -- A HERS-ST Application
Abstract: This paper describes how system preservation has not traditionally been the focus of regional planning agencies. However, it shows how system preservation and renewal consume a significant proportion of transportation resources. The Chicago Area Transportation Study (CATS) 2030 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) allocates $47 billion of a total of $65 billion (72%) in projected revenue for capital investments to system maintenance and reconstruction. There is no doubt that the highways, particularly their maintenance and improvement, is a major proportion of the overall plan recommendations, but so far the corresponding analysis and research work has not been equivalent. In this context, a financial and economic analytical framework is needed that could be eventually integrated into the typical regional transportation planning process. As the 2030 RTP recognized, the gap between projections of our transportation needs and the financial resources available to meet them is widening. This paper documents this gap and looks for ways to fill the gap by introducing a benefit-cost analysis (BCA) procedure into RTPs using the Highway Economic Requirements Systems (HERS-ST) as a bridging tool. Based on a comparative study of alternative investment scenarios for the northeastern Illinois region, the 2030 RTP highway investment recommendations will result in significant underinvestment in the region’s highway system. This paper argues that substantial benefits could be gained by allocating funds more efficiently even without any additional funding. Overall, with the same total available funds, the minimum BCR oriented approaches will give better system conditions over each funding period, higher overall investment returns for the entire planning horizon and significant maintenance-cost savings over time. However, due to the inherent limitations of the HERS model, the magnitude of advantages by applying minimum BCR scenarios might be exaggerated to a certain level.
Publication Year: 2007
Publication Date: 2007-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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