2013 Session: 687

• Quantifying the Benefits of Managing Ancillary Transportation Assets
  Abstract: As transportation agencies begin to expand their infrastructure management programs to include ancillary assets such as guardrails and traffic signs, the question of how to prioritize these assets for inclusion in existing programs becomes important, especially when faced with limited resources. This paper assesses the opportunities to prioritize ancillary assets for management based on quantified benefits of managing each asset category. Two reported methods for quantifying the benefits of asset management are reviewed, revealing some challenges in applying them to ancillary assets, and a third framework based on benefit-cost analysis (BCA) is proposed and evaluated. The results indicate that the supporting roles played by ancillary assets within the transportation system makes it difficult to attribute certain costs and benefits to specific assets. Furthermore, the benefits of an asset management program at one level of maturity may be different from the benefits at another level of maturity due to expected differences in outputs and outcomes. This paper reveals the importance of considering benefits and costs of asset management programs over an extended period of program maturation, rather than at a snapshot in time, in order to make sound decisions on the value of such programs, and emphasizes the importance of systematic data collection to track the evolution of benefits and costs of asset management programs.
  Authors: Akofio-Sowah, Margaret-Avis; Amekudzi, Adjo A.
  Authors: Akofio-Sowah, Margaret-Avis; Amekudzi, Adjo A.
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Paper
  Subject: Administration and Management
  Session: 687
  Paper Number: 13-3469
• Evaluation of Perpetual Pavement Design Philosophy for Three Traffic Volume Scenarios
  Abstract: This paper evaluates the structural benefits of using perpetual asphalt pavement designs in comparison to the conventional pavement designs for three traffic levels. In addition, Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) was implemented to evaluate these various designs. Three scenarios were evaluated comparing the perpetual and conventional designs as applied on high, moderate and low traffic volume roads. The high traffic volume model represents a test section constructed on Highway 401 in Ontario, Canada. The moderate and low traffic volume scenarios were created based on traffic counts by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO). Pavement designs for the moderate and low traffic volume scenarios are based on the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) DARWin 3.1 methodology.The structural evaluation of the different pavement designs considered a 50-year analysis period using the Mechanistic Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) model. The structural evaluation concluded that perpetual pavements have higher resistance to bottom up fatigue cracking, rutting and less deterioration rate of IRI compared to conventional pavements in the three scenarios.Finally, a 70-year LCCA was implemented on all three scenarios. The maintenance and rehabilitation programs used in LCCA were designed based on the MEPDG results and the typical MTO practices. The LCCA showed that perpetual pavement designs are the cost-effective alternative in high and moderate traffic volume scenarios.
  Authors: El-Hakim, Mohab; Tighe, Susan Louise
  Authors: El-Hakim, Mohab; Tighe, Susan Louise
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Paper
  Subject: Administration and Management
  Session: 687
  Paper Number: 13-4241
• Enhancing Network-Level Decision Making Through Use of Structural Capacity Index
  Abstract: The objective of this paper is to show potential applications of a network-level structural index developed for evaluation of flexible pavements. This was performed by first identifying several potential applications for implementation of network-level structural measures, and then using data from the state of Virginia to modify and show examples of the proposed applications for the index. Data from network-level deflection testing on Virginia interstates using the Falling Weight Deflectometer, as well as data from the Virginia Department of Transportation Pavement Management System was used to validate several applications. The results of the research indicated that including the structural index into the network-level decision process can facilitate a greater understanding about the behavior of the performance of a pavement. Furthermore, the index that was proposed for network-level evaluation of flexible pavements in Virginia was used to develop enhanced deterioration models for particular pavement treatments, and demonstrate the dependence of pavement performance on its structural capacity. It was shown that the functional characteristics of a pavement alone are not adequate to describe the structural condition of the pavement. Therefore, the structural condition, e.g., based on the results from deflection testing, should be considered when making network-level pavement management decisions.
  Authors: Bryce, James; Flintsch, Gerardo W.; Katicha, Samer Wehbe; Diefenderfer, Brian Keith
  Authors: Bryce, James; Flintsch, Gerardo W.; Katicha, Samer Wehbe; Diefenderfer, Brian Keith
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Paper
  Subject: Administration and Management
  Session: 687
  Paper Number: 13-2808
  Practice-Ready: Yes
• Enhancing Network-Level Decision Making Through Use of Structural Capacity Index
  Authors: Bryce, James
  Authors: Bryce, James
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Presentation
  Subject: Administration and Management
  Session: 687
  Paper Number: 13-2808
• Quantifying the Benefits of Managing Ancillary Transportation Assets
  Authors: Akofio-Sowah, Margaret-Avis
  Authors: Akofio-Sowah, Margaret-Avis
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Presentation
  Subject: Administration and Management
  Session: 687
  Paper Number: 13-3469
• Evaluation of Perpetual Pavement Design Philosophy for Three Traffic Volume Scenarios
  Authors: El-Hakim, Mohab
  Authors: El-Hakim, Mohab
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Presentation
  Subject: Administration and Management
  Session: 687
  Paper Number: 13-4241
• Using Performance Measures Related to Livability and Quality of Life in Transportation Decision Making
  Authors: Fischer, Jamie
  Authors: Fischer, Jamie
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Presentation
  Subject: Administration and Management
  Session: 687
  Paper Number: P13-6511
• Multivariate Statistical Process Control for Structural Health Monitoring
  Authors: Chen, Yikai
  Authors: Chen, Yikai
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Presentation
  Subject: Administration and Management
  Session: 687
  Paper Number: P13-6306