Economic Development Impact of Preservation Projects

Preservation and maintenance activities protect pavements and bridges, extending the life of these assets and guarantee the safety of users. Because rebuilding a road in poor condition can cost ten times as much as work needed to keep the road in good condition, these activities also represent significant savings to taxpayers. In addition to these benefits, preservation activities can also have wider economic benefits in the form of reduced user costs related to vehicle operation, travel time, and safety. This project aims to develop sketch planning tools for assessing the economic development impacts of pavement and bridge preservation projects to meet the needs of INDOT’s Division of Asset Planning and Management. To accomplish these objectives, the following tasks were undertaken: a literature review, an evaluation of existing tools that could address some aspect of the study topic or be used as guidance for the development of the project tools, the development of the tool, and the preparation of guidance materials and documentation