AASHTO STANDING COMMITTEE ON RESEARCH

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF STATE HIGHWAY AND TRANSPORTATION OFFICIALS

NCHRP 20-7 Research Needs Statement

I. PROBLEM NUMBER

To be assigned by NCHRP staff.

II. PROBLEM TITLE

Guidelines for Incorporating Maintenance Costs into a Transportation Asset Management Plan

III. STATEMENT OF THE RESEARCH PROBLEM

MAP-21 established a performance-based Federal-Aid Highway Program that includes a requirement for state transportation agencies to develop and update a risk-based Transportation Asset Management Plan (TAMP) that identifies investment and management strategies to improve or preserve asset conditions and the performance of the National Highway System (NHS). Although only pavements and bridges on the NHS are required to be included in the TAMP, states are encouraged to include all roadway assets within the right-of-way. At a minimum, the TAMP should include the following information:

·  A summary listing of the pavement and bridge assets on the NHS, including a description of asset conditions.

·  Asset management objectives and measures.

·  The identification of any performance gap.

·  A lifecycle cost and risk management analysis.

·  A 10-year financial plan and corresponding investment strategies.

While most states are able to capture past and planned expenditures on capital projects, states are finding it challenging to incorporate maintenance costs into their TAMP. This situation is influenced by a number of factors, including those listed below:

·  Maintenance data is not easily linked to pavement and bridge management systems so it is not easy to track maintenance applied to specific pavement sections or bridges.

·  Maintenance plans are not developed for 10 years into the future. Other state planning documents, such as the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP), include only capital investments.

·  Maintenance funds are allocated to address a collection of maintenance activities and are not committed to a single asset type. For instance, agencies generally do not establish a budget specifically for guardrails or culverts.

Current TAMP guidelines lack clarity on how to gather and incorporate maintenance cost data as they talk about using life cycle cost analysis, having a financial plan, and investment strategies, but don't describe what need to be considered in the life cycle assessments. The absence of maintenance cost data in a TAMP must be addressed to fully capture the investments being made by states in the transportation system. This is especially important as state transportation agencies shift their focus from system expansion to system preservation, which places more of an emphasis on preventive maintenance activities.

There are at least three parts of the TAMP where maintenance costs should be included:

·  The analysis of life cycle cost strategies, to demonstrate the cost-effectiveness of preservation programs and the increase in maintenance costs associated with deferred capital improvements.

·  The development of the financial plan, showing anticipated revenue for the next 10 years and planned investments in pavements, bridges, and other assets. The financial plan should address all investments in the highway system, including both capital and maintenance investments.

·  The development of investment strategies, which identify how funds will be invested in the transportation system over the next 10 years. These strategies should reflect the results of the life cycle analysis, which typically stresses investments in both capital and maintenance activities.

The guidance developed under this research will provide the information needed by practitioners to use available pavement and bridge maintenance data to address each of these elements of a TAMP. In addition, the guidance will address the use of available information to incorporate other roadside assets (such as guardrails and culverts) into a TAMP.

This problem was identified at the 2015 meeting of the AASHTO Highway Subcommittee on Maintenance (SCOM) as a high priority to be addressed. The research will support the SCOM mission to provide technical and policy guidance to the member states and addresses the Committee’s goal to promote accountability and transparency through performance management.

IV. LITERATURE SEARCH SUMMARY

A literature search indicates that there is no information currently available that specifically focuses on how maintenance costs should be incorporated into a TAMP. Instead, as the examples of available literature show, the focus has been at a higher level, addressing the general content of a TAMP and its development within an organization.

Title: / Development of an Implementation Manual for Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies
Record URL: / http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=4065
Source Agency: / Transportation Research Board
500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001 United States
Source Data: / RiP Project 40228
Title: / 2014 Transportation Asset Management Peer Exchange – Preparing for MAP-21 Implementation
Record URL: / http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/asset/pubs/hif14013.pdf
Title: / New Hampshire DOT Transportation Asset Management Implementation Plan
Record URL: / http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/asset/gap/nhgap.pdf
Title: / Vermont Agency of Transportation Transportation Asset Management Implementation Plan
Record URL: / http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/asset/gap/vtgap.pdf
Title: / Minnesota DOT Work Plan for Developing a Transportation Asset Management Plan
Record URL: / http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/asset/tamp/mn_tamp.pdf
Title: / Research for the AASHTO Standing Committee on Planning. Task 116. Development of Transportation Asset Management Plan Templates
Record URL: / http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=3521
Source Agency: / Transportation Research Board
500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001 United States
Source Data: / RiP Project 38087

V. RESEARCH OBJECTIVE

The objective of this research is to develop guidance that can be used by state transportation agencies to better incorporate maintenance costs into the life cycle cost analysis, 10-year financial plan, and investment strategies included in a TAMP.

The research objective will be achieved through the conduct of the following activities:

·  Review existing TAMPs and summarize the extent to which maintenance costs are incorporated into the life cycle cost analysis, financial plan, and investment strategies. Use this review to identify key gaps in how maintenance costs are considered in a TAMP.

·  Based on the gaps identified, identify TAMP content areas where maintenance costs could be better incorporated into a TAMP.

·  Determine the adequacy of available maintenance data to support the needs in each TAMP content area.

·  Using the information from the previous activities, develop guidance that can be used by states to better account for past and planned maintenance costs as they develop their TAMP. Consider agencies at various levels of maturity in terms of their maintenance management practices in the guidance and address special requirements that must be addressed to incorporate assets other than pavements and bridges in the TAMP.

·  Prepare a final report that includes the findings, provides guidance for state transportation agencies, and identifies further research needs in this area.

VI. ESTIMATE OF PROBLEM FUNDING AND RESEARCH PERIOD

Recommended Funding: Funding for this project is estimated at $90,000.

Research Period: The research study will be completed in approximately 10-12 months.

VII. PERSON(S) DEVELOPING THE PROBLEM

This research problem statement was developed by the AASHTO Subcommittee on Maintenance, Pavement Technical Working Group, based on recommendations from its 2015 Annual Meeting in Des Moines, Iowa.

VIII. PROBLEM MONITOR

Anita Bush

Chief Maintenance and Asset Management Engineer

Nevada Department of Transportation

1263 S. Stewart Street

Carson City, NV 89712

Office – 775-888-7856

Fax – 775-888-7211

IX. DATE AND SUBMITTED BY

This problem statement is submitted by Ms. Anita Bush, Nevada DOT, on behalf of the AASHTO Subcommittee on Maintenance, Pavement Technical Working Group, on August 28, 2015.

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Please submit completed problem statement online at this link or as a Word file attached to the following e-mail address:

Questions on the process can be directed to the same address or .

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