Cost-effectiveness analysis for concrete pavement preservation strategy selection and resource allocation

Abstract

There are usually many preservation and rehabilitation strategy options for any pavement section at any point in time. Each project-level strategy has associated costs, which are typically evaluated using life-cycle cost analyses (LCCA). Limitations to these analyses include: inability to accurately predict the actual timing and costs of future rehabilitation work; use of an appropriate discount rate; the assumption of equal benefits and service among competing alternatives; and treatment of end-of-life values (service life and salvage material). Each preservation option also impacts pavement service quality and service life, and the value of service on any pavement section depends on the volume and composition of traffic using the facility. Typical preservation strategy selection strategies do not adequately consider these factors in a quantifiable way. This paper presents and demonstrates the use of cost-effectiveness analysis in pavement preservation strategy selection to account for the different levels of service associated with different preservation strategies applied at different times. It also demonstrates concepts for using cost-effectiveness analyses in the allocation of network funds, considering both the quality of service provided and the number and type of users that use different pavement sections in the network. The analysis and strategy selection/optimization techniques presented herein are intended for use as tools to aid in decision-making, recognizing that there are likely additional factors that impact the decision processes that are not represented by these techniques.