How Providing the Opportunity for Industries to Compete Benefits the Pavement Market : And How Agencies Can Use it to Lower their Pavement Cost

Abstract

In 2018, the U.S. spent an estimated $187 billion on its highways and roadways, with the majority of funding coming from state and local governments (~$141B from states and local governments vs ~$45B from the Federal Government) (Urban Institute, n.d.) Despite this enormous outlay of funds, the U.S. highway infrastructure needs are at an all-time high. The road system earned a D grade from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) on their 2021 report card, which is the same grade roads have received on every ASCE Report Card. Over 40% of U.S. roadways are in a poor/deficient condition and the number of vehicle miles traveling on roads in “poor” condition has risen from 15% to more than 17% over the last decade. Overall, there is about a $435 billion backlog of highway road repair projects and the poor US road system is costing the country an additional $130 billion in extra vehicle repairs and operating costs, or over $1,000 per motorist per year (ASCE, 2021) Improvement of the system is needed and the primary approach to address this challenge to date has been to increase funding. While more funding is needed, agencies also need to find ways to be more efficient within their constrained budgets in order to get more out of their roadway and pavement investments. This paper will show how competition in the pavement bidding process and across paving industries can bring value to Transportation Agencies by lowering pavement unit costs.