Abstract
It is becoming standard practice for many departments of transportation (DOTs) to use incentive/disincentive clauses (also known as road user costs) with contractors to stay on or ahead of schedule. These road user costs are clauses that DOTs use to calculate a monetary amount to encourage contractors to complete work prior to milestone dates and/or limit the time specified on the contract. The monetary amounts are typically vehicle operating costs and vehicle delay costs encumbered by highway users resulting from construction, maintenance, or rehabilitation activity. In this paper, we propose an innovative way of calculating these costs using varied values of time based on trip purpose and departure time. In addition, we use advanced pre-trip and en route traveler information to determine the influence it has on route choice. Several scenarios are modeled using an advanced, simulation-based dynamic traffic assignment model. The goal of this paper is to identify the governing factors that contribute to road use costs by determining different approaches to derive the value one places on a trip. The approach to this study is twofold: first several research methods were used to derive the value of time. Second, the use of advanced traveler information is introduced to determine if it plays a critical role in route choice. The proposed methodology shows differences in road user cost calculations. Which approach would be more receptive to a contractor while proposing roadway construction? A case study of a roadway construction project in El Paso, Texas, is used to compare different approaches to calculate road user costs.
Highlights
When roadways are considered for either rehabilitation or new infrastructure construction, the work zones associated with them typically create disruption to normal traffic flow
We present a case study from El Paso, Texas, that used a simulation-based dynamic traffic assignment (DTA) model to analyze a work zone closure and how the value of time (VoT) used for specific trip purposes coupled with advanced traveler information influenced the calculation of road user costs (RUCs)
To capture the dynamics of an Advanced traveler information systems (ATISs) coupled with the VoT and how they impacted the RUC study, measures of effectiveness (MOEs) were collected for the entire El Paso region
Summary
When roadways are considered for either rehabilitation or new infrastructure construction, the work zones associated with them typically create disruption to normal traffic flow. This disruption can occur because detours increase the time and distance that must be traveled to complete a trip or because bottleneck areas cause vehicles to operate at less-than-optimal speeds (Barnes & Langworthy, 2004). In densely populated urban areas, work-zone-instigated user costs could outweigh direct costs and need to be considered when examining project alternatives (Dolama et al, 2020). Agencies typically use road user costs (RUCs) as an economic and legal basis to establish incentives and disincentives. Many agencies have conducted comprehensive studies and developed methodologies to calculate monetary values and evaluate qualitative components of road user costs to aid state departments of transportation (DOTs) in utilizing alternative contracting methods (Sadasivam & Mallela, 2015)
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