Evaluation of Socio-Environmental Effects considering Road Service Levels for Transportation Asset Management

Abstract

Abstract Internationally, aging infrastructures, tighter budget, and public demands for more accountability have stimulated interests in asset management. Since the old management concept “Worst-First approach” cannot counteract those issues any more, many countries or organizations have developed and operating decision-making support tools, such as Highway Development and Management-4 (HDM-4), RealCOST, HERS, and so on. Nevertheless, the programs missed an important concept of the asset management—the business—which treats the balance among the asset condition, user's satisfaction, and budget demand. The powerful weapon of the business is the level of service (LOS), which is an essential tool for quantification, evaluation, and negotiation. For those reasons, this study tried to suggest a general framework of the LOS-based life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) considering road users and social benefits, and to show its adaptability with empirical application to a Korean case. The case study aimed at the Korean national highway network, and details of sub-models and analysis options followed by the legal investment guideline in Korea. This would be a significant trial, combining engineering, management, economics, accounting, and environmental issues under the single concept of asset management.