Value Analysis Using Performance Attributes Matrix for Highway Rehabilitation Projects

Abstract

Since 1997, when FHWA made value analysis (VA) a federal policy, the VA procedure has become necessary for improving pavement quality and reducing life-cycle and road user costs for highway projects, especially large-scale ones. The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has moved beyond simple compliance with the policy and implemented a new VA procedure in the planning and design stage of the Interstate 80 (I-80) Sacramento rehabilitation (planned to begin in 2011). This I-80 case study demonstrates an efficient new VA procedure and presents its results for three alternatives by using a performance attributes matrix (PAM) approach and Construction Analysis for Pavement Rehabilitation Strategies (CA4PRS) software. The PAM was used to quantify performance attributes, and CA4PRS was used to calculate the construction schedule and to estimate agency and user costs for each of the construction activities for a 60-year life cycle. The VA results show quantitative changes in performance and life-cycle costs for each alternative. On the basis of the VA team's recommendation, Caltrans adopted two of the three alternatives even though they required an increase of $6.99 million in initial construction costs; however, the chosen combination of alternatives will provide a total savings of $7.66 million in agency and user costs over the life-cycle period (60 years) and improve highway performance by 8%. The combined VA effect allows for improvement of the overall maintainability, enhancement of ride quality, and better phase-ability with the high-occupancy vehicle lanes project planned for this stretch of highway in the future.