MPC
Research Projects (2009-10)

Identifying Number

MPC-314

Project Title

Assessing the User Impacts of Fast-Track Highway Construction (ABC), Year 2

University

University of Utah

Project Investigator

Peter T. Martin, Professor
University of Utah Traffic Lab
122 S. Central Campus Dr. Rm 104
Salt Lake City, Utah 84112-0561
Phone: 801 581-7144
E-mail: peter@trafficlab.utah.edu

Description of Project Abstract

The I-15 Design-Build Reconstruction Project disrupted the traveling public. There would have been congestion had the project been managed by traditional form of contract. A detailed modeling process showed that the Design-Build form of contract saved large traveler delays when compared to a traditional design-bid-build form of contract. This project will take the process developed for the I-15 analysis and apply it to 6 small construction projects. This will identify if the savings associated with the large I-15 project can be reflected in smaller projects.

Project Objectives

The project will determine whether Design and Build (D&B) is a cost effective form of contract for 6 small proposed construction projects. Delay, emissions and safety impacts will be evaluated for D&B compared to

• do-nothing
• no-build
• traditional construction

Project Approach/Methods

The following major tasks are proposed:

1. Collect data to construct the model and validate it, for each construction project.
2. Simulate the three alternatives for multiple time periods. (5, 7, and 10 years).
3. Compare the user's costs for delay, emissions and safety to develop a network cost for each alternative.

MPC Critical Issues Addressed by the Research

Focus Areas Addressed by Research: FA 11 - Traffic Operations and Management; FA 14 - Multimodal Policy and Investment Assessment; FA 17 - Environmental Impacts of Infrastructure.

Critical Issues Addressed by Research:

• FA 11 - Longer-term traffic strategies (new type of public transit service); innovative lane utilization (exclusive BRT lanes); traffic adaptive signal control systems (transit signal priority).
• FA 14 - Benefit-costs analysis of transportation network investments (BRT on 3500 S spans over major NS highway and transit corridors); multimodal interactions in capacity-constrained corridors.
• FA 17 - Environmental impacts of alternative transportation modes for commuting.

Contributions/Potential Applications of Research

Highway construction has traditionally been through Design-Bid-Build. This approach has served the nation well. However, as our highway networks become ever more congested, the public is not well served by the time consuming traditional contracting methods. While the Design-Build form of construction is more expensive, we need to be able to assess the delay cost implications. This project will advance the more realistic deployment of accelerated construction techniques through modeling to deliver realistic costs and attendant delay savings.

Technology Transfer Activities

N/A

Time Duration

July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2010

Total Project Cost

$120,429.00

MPC Funds Requested

$50,400.00

TRB Keywords

Congestion, traffic operations, multimodal, adaptive signal control systems, transportation, transit corridors, commuting