Integrated Multiple-Criteria Decision-Making Method to Prioritize Transportation Projects

Abstract

Prioritization of transportation projects, a process of selecting projects for funding given multiple constraints, is cumbersome and time-consuming. This study presents a simplified methodology for ranking transportation projects with an integrated multiple-criteria decision-making (MCDM) process for prioritizing transportation projects when multiple decision makers present various opinions and biases. This study applies the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) to help multiple decision makers select transportation projects in an environment where vagueness and subjectivity are replaced with numerical values and processed in an automated fashion. The AHP is used to weigh a set of criteria by pair-wise comparisons, and TOPSIS is used to obtain final project rankings. Even though AHP and TOPSIS are widely accepted MCDM methods, few transportation policy boards have used this unique, integrated approach for ranking transportation projects. The El Paso, Texas, Metropolitan Planning Organization's Transportation Improvement Plan was used as a case study for this research.