For the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), accurately predicting durations for right-of-way (R/W) acquisition and utility adjustment on highway projects has been deemed as one of the most important capabilities that regional districts should possess. Because this need is so pressing, TxDOT has sought to establish an effective methodology for predicting the durations of these two pre-construction processes. The “Right-of-Way Acquisition and Utility Adjustment Process Duration Information (RUDI) tool” was developed, which is an Excel-based tool that takes into consideration user inputs regarding project circumstances such as schedule urgency and levels of uncertainty. In this study, the accuracy of RUDI and the key drivers that affect the durations of R/W acquisition and utility adjustment have been examined in order to assess RUDI’s effectiveness in implementation on projects, to identify critical needs for enhancing RUDI, and to understand how practitioners can better predict durations needed for R/W acquisition and utility adjustment. RUDI proved useful in predicting durations with better accuracy in spite of limited data availability. Specifically, RUDI provided practitioners with reasonable duration ranges that can be used in better forecasting the durations of utility adjustment. Moreover, the study revealed that practitioners with more than 13 years of experience and R/W acquisition specialization showed better performance in estimating durations for R/W acquisition. Accurately estimated durations for utility adjustment were mostly provided by practitioners working at districts located in urban or metropolitan areas in Texas. The drivers identified significantly influential in predicting durations for R/W acquisition by the practitioners include “TxDOT Project Type,” “District R/W Annual Budget,” “Dedication of Funds to the Project,” “Funding Limitations for the Project,” “Level of Political Pressure,” “Need for Residential Relocation,” “Level of Local Availability of Replacement Housing Facilities,” and “Likelihood of Title Curative Actions,” “Status of Environmental Clearance,” “Status of Right-of-Way Map,” “Frequency of Eminent Domain,” “Right-of-Way and Utility Scope,” and “Number of Parcels for Acquisition.” Likewise, for estimating utility adjustment durations, the drivers deemed highly influential and important by the practitioners include “Dedication of Funds to the Project (R/W and Construction),” “Funding Limitations for the Project,” “Have Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE) Investigations been Performed,” “Adjustment is Reimbursable Utility or Non-Reimbursable Utility,” “Status of Environmental Clearance,” “Status of Right-of-Way Map,” “Right-of-Way and Utility Scope,” “Number of Utilities Located in Private Easement,” and “Responsiveness of Utility Companies to TxDOT Needs.” These drivers should be considered key data points in RUDI because they can provide users with more duration ranges that can be useful in forecasting actual durations of R/W acquisition and utility adjustment on highway projects. The study also revealed that further research is needed to maximize the benefits of the RUDI tool, although validating the study’s findings was restricted due to a lack of data. Additional studies for improving the RUDI tool should focus both on collecting more recent data and reconstructing the tool in terms of function and structure. / text

Construction of highway projects is one of the most important and expensive state government functions. Highway construction projects bring revenue and jobs to the locales in which they are built, in addition to providing a better transportation infrastructure within or between communities, states or nations. In the state of Oregon, its Department of Transportation (ODOT) publishes a document forecasting planned highway construction expenditures for the next six years. This document was called, until recently the six-year highway program; it is the Department's primary programming document for planned highway construction expenditures in the next six years, with updates every two years. More recently the document has been renamed the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP). The purpose of this study was to examine the distribution of planned highway construction projects within the state of Oregon from 1978 to 1992 by analyzing five selected ODOT six-year programs. Planned highway project expenditures were analyzed statistically, by county, to explain patterns of expenditure by project location, work type, highway level of importance, and changes in these over time. To analyze the significance of proposed highway expenditures by county, the cost of highway projects was compared and statistically measured against county factors such as population, area, total state highway mileage, and vehicle miles traveled (VMT). Data was collected from ODOT, the Oregon Secretary of State and the Center for Population Research and Census. Analysis consisted of simple grouping and sorting by program year, work type, etc., bivariate linear regression, and multiple linear regression. These analyses were performed on individual project data, and project data aggregated to the county level, for each of the five selected ODOT programs. The analyses determined that there was a positive correlation between relatively high programmed highway expenditures, large county populations (and population densities) and high total highway mileages per county in Oregon; in other words, the highway funds went where the people and state highways were. Furthermore, the analysis confirmed relative ranking hypotheses between highway expenditures work types, and the type of highway (LOI) the projects were to be performed on. These two secondary "ranking by type" hypotheses were: 1.) project work type, from most to least expensive: modernization, bridge, preservation, safety, and miscellaneous; 2.) LOI, from highest to least importance: interstate, statewide, regional, and statewide. Observations on the trends of expenditures over time showed that 1.) modernization expenditures in Oregon increased from 1978 to 1988, then declined in 1992 when preservation projects increased; and that 2.) interstate highways in Oregon received the highest funding overall from 1978 to 1988, but that from 1986 onward, statewide highways received more and more funding, and by 1992 were receiving more funding than the interstates.

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State DOTs (department of transportation) spend billions of dollars on construction and maintenance of transportation projects every year. In addition, significant sums go to preliminary and construction engineering (PE and CE). For many projects, DOTs utilize engineering services from consultants, to supplement in-house engineering. The cost and quality of consultant’s engineering services compared to in-house, are important issues to justify the involvement of consultants. This report provides an analysis of those issues on Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) projects. Traditionally, the costs of PE and CE are calculated as a fixed percentage of total project construction cost, and the efficiency of engineering organizations is assessed by comparison of their gross percentages. However, the results presented here show that project scope and complexity are significant factors in PE and CE cost. Therefore, simplistic comparisons of PE and CE percentages can be misleading when applied across a mixed program of projects. / text

The currently accepted method for assessing the resistance of concrete to penetration of chloride ions is ASTM C1202, commonly known as the “Rapid Chloride Permeability (RCP) Test.” The test is time-consuming, laborious, has rather high variability, and, is to a degree, user sensitive, making it problematic for inclusion in a performance-based specification. A potential alternative to the RCP test is the “Surface Resistivity (SR) Test”, a method which is dramatically easier, faster, and has less variability than the RCP test. The research reported herein was directed toward determining a correlation between RCP and SR test measurements for Tennessee bridge deck concrete, based on cylinders collected from concrete bridge decks being constructed across the state, and evaluating the appropriateness of the SR test as an alternative to the RCP test for inclusion in a performance-based specification. Results of the testing showed a clear correlation between the two methods and identified potential limits for possible inclusion in a performance-based specification.

This study explored public involvement within the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) using the co-orientational theory. Effective public involvement gives the public opportunities to be involved early in the planning and implementation of transportation projects that directly affect or may concern them. The co-orientational model looks at what an organization (FDOT) thinks about an issue (public involvement), what the public thinks of the issue, what the organization thinks the public thinks about the issue, and what the public thinks the organization thinks about the issue. This study investigated whether the FDOT management has an accurate understanding of the perceptions of the public and communicates effectively with them. To achieve accurate perceptions of the public, management must interact with the public to identify issues that could become potential crises if not addressed at an early stage. This study examined whether there is true consensus or dissensus among the public and the FDOT management and looked at the perceptions of both groups and the distance between them to see if the needs of the public and the Department can both be met. A critical part of this research included analyzing the opinions of the public to see if the public trusts government and the FDOT. Furthermore, this study set out to determine a relationship between trust and involvement and the different techniques used to communicate.Research was gathered through surveys to the public and to FDOT management. The public surveys were handed out at transportation public meetings across the state of Florida over a period of six months to gain the publics perception of the issue and the publics estimate of the management perceptions.

The purpose of this study was to improve flexible base course performance within the state of Texas while reducing TxDOT’s testing burden. The focus of this study was to revise the current specification with the intent of providing a “performance related” specification while optimizing sample sizes and testing frequencies based on material variability. A literature review yielded information on base course variability within and outside the state of Texas, and on what tests other states, and Canada, are currently using to characterize flexible base performance. A sampling and testing program was conducted at Texas A&M University to define current variability information, and to conduct performance related tests including resilient modulus and permanent deformation. In addition to these data being more current, they are more representative of short-term variability than data obtained from the literature. This “short-term” variability is considered more realistic for what typically occurs during construction operations. A statistical sensitivity analysis (based on the 80th percentile standard deviation) of these data was conducted to determine minimum sample sizes for contractors to qualify for the proposed quality monitoring program (QMP). The required sample sizes for contractors to qualify for the QMP are 20 for gradation, compressive strength, and moisture-density tests, 15 for Atterberg Limits, and 10 for Web Ball Mill. These sample sizes are based on a minimum 25,000 ton stockpile, or “lot”. After qualifying for the program, if contractors can prove their variability is better than the 80th percentile, they can reduce their testing frequencies. The sample size for TxDOT’s verification testing is 5 samples per lot and will remain at that number regardless of reduced variability. Once qualified for the QMP, a contractor may continue to send material to TxDOT projects until a failing sample disqualifies the contractor from the program. TxDOT does not currently require washed gradations for flexible base. Dry and washed sieve analyses were performed during this study to investigate the need for washed gradations. Statistical comparisons of these data yielded strong evidence that TxDOT should always use a washed method. Significant differences between the washed and dry method were determined for the percentage of material passing the No. 40 and No. 200 sieves. Since TxDOT already specifies limits on the fraction of material passing the No. 40 sieve, and since this study yielded evidence of that size fraction having a relationship with resilient modulus (performance), it would be beneficial to use a washed sieve analysis and therefore obtain a more accurate reading for that specification. Furthermore, it is suggested the TxDOT requires contractors to have “target” test values, and to place 90 percent within limits (90PWL) bands around those target values to control material variability.

The transportation system is an important network established to ensure the mobility of people and goods between destinations. In addition, it also serves a vital role in responding to disasters, and therefore deserves special attention when those disasters threaten to decrease its support capability. The task of securing a transportation system consisting of multiple interconnected assets is a complex responsibility. As an owner and operator of major transportation infrastructure, state Departments of Transportation (DOTs) have a vested interest in ensuring this balance and represent an important mediator between federal and local interests, assuming nine key security planning roles in their traditional transportation planning duties: Coordinator, Analyzer/Planner, Financial Administrator, Infrastructure Owner, Infrastructure Operator, Implementer, Regulator, Information Provider, and Influencer. Through their internal vulnerability assessments, the departments already perform a vital security planning function that can support their own planning efforts as well as others. Incorporating security into the transportation planning process requires modification as feedback of implementation methods is received. It does not mean transforming the DOT into a security agency, but rather incorporating a security perspective into the analysis of the system. This first involves establishing a more solid role as a coordinator in order to solidify vital linkages between agencies relevant to security planning. This interaction should reveal standardization issues the DOT can address in order to ensure effective collaboration, communication and coordination. Funding security measures may be difficult; but by incorporating security measures into initial analyzation and planning processes, they can be brought into the broader concept of the system rather than simply added as additional funding needs. The nine roles suggested earlier offer opportunities for state DOTs to overcome these and other challenges faced in the process of incorporating security into the transportation planning process. Through these roles, state DOTs can ensure that security efforts reach the parts of the system that require them and begin to build a more secure system.

While regular maintenance of roads and bridges are essential to ensure a high level of service for road users, road users typically do not prefer having to drive through a construction zone because of the lower speed and increased possibilities of crashes. These road user inconveniences are typically ignored or not given much weight while planning, developing, and awarding construction and maintenance projects. Typically, a contractor with the lowest bid is awarded a construction project irrespective of whether the project will be completed in a shorter or longer duration if the duration is within a provided limit. Such a decision-making process, known as "the apparent lowest bidder," is the most common method for selecting the best contractor for construction projects, even though quicker completion of a construction project results in reduced inconvenience to the road users. To overcome this limitation, state Departments of Transportation (DOTs) have started to use the monetary quantification of the road user inconveniences, known as the road user cost, while selecting the best contractor for a project. However, monetary quantification of the road user cost is a significant challenge to state DOTs. Many state DOTs lack a systematic methodology to compute the road user cost or have inconsistent methodologies within the same state DOT. Currently, the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) does not have a systematic methodology to compute the road user cost. This study aims to review existing methodologies from other state DOTs across the U.S. to identify the best practices for calculating the road user cost. To achieve this, the study reviewed existing literature on the subject and conducted a nationwide survey questionnaire covering all 50 state DOTs. The survey result shows that 34 out of 37 responding state DOTs are currently calculating the road user cost. More than half of the state DOTs have developed their state-specific methodologies for various purposes, including A+B contract evaluation, incentives/disincentives determination, and benefit-cost analysis for alternative project evaluation. The delay cost and the vehicle operating costs are the two most common components to compute the road user costs. As the road user cost calculation requires additional time and effort, it is calculated only for a limited number of construction projects based on the project's duration, location, and complexity. Most state DOTs prefer and use a spreadsheet-based tool to ease the calculation process. The survey results provide the most extensive and detailed information about the current practices of calculating the road user costs in the U.S. The survey results will be used to develop a new methodology to compute road user costs for TDOT. Other state DOTs can also use the study's findings to improve their road user cost calculation methodologies. Such improved methodology will help state DOTs make more informed contract-management decisions and reduce inconveniences to road users. Keywords: Road User's Cost, Department of Transportation, Work Zone, A+B Bidding