Possibilities to reduce pavement rehabilitation cost of a collision-free road investment using an LCCA design procedure

Abstract

In the past decades, many single carriageway roads in Sweden have been converted to collision-free roads as a cost-effective alternative to conventional motorways. Investigations have concluded that the road type has been successful in reducing the number of fatal accidents, despite increased operation and maintenance costs. In recent years, the focus has shifted to converting narrower roads, which are anticipated to further increase pavement rehabilitation cost but also complicate traffic management during road works. This paper first examines the consequences in terms of road agency and road user costs; second, the possibilities to influence future costs by design alternatives. A life cycle cost analysis was employed to study future costs. The analysis indicated significant increase in life cycle cost compared to a single carriageway road. The analysis of design alternatives also indicated that future agency and road user cost can be substantially improved by finding an optimal alternative.