Case Studies in Cross-Asset, Multi-Objective Resource Allocation (2019)

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2019 N A T I O N A L C O O P E R A T I V E H I G H W A Y R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M NCHRP RESEARCH REPORT 921 Case Studies in Implementing Cross-Asset, Multi-Objective Resource Allocation Spy Pond Partners, LLC Arlington, MA High Street Consulting Group, LLC Pittsburgh, PA Burns & McDonnell Kansas City, MO Subscriber Categories Highways • Economics • Administration and Management Research sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration

NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM Systematic, well-designed, and implementable research is the most effective way to solve many problems facing state departments of transportation (DOTs) administrators and engineers. Often, highway problems are of local or regional interest and can best be studied by state DOTs individually or in cooperation with their state universities and others. However, the accelerating growth of highway transporta- tion results in increasingly complex problems of wide interest to high- way authorities. These problems are best studied through a coordinated program of cooperative research. Recognizing this need, the leadership of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) in 1962 ini- tiated an objective national highway research program using modern scientific techniques—the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP). NCHRP is supported on a continuing basis by funds from participating member states of AASHTO and receives the full cooperation and support of the Federal Highway Administration, United States Department of Transportation. The Transportation Research Board (TRB) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine was requested by AASHTO to administer the research program because of TRB’s recognized objectivity and understanding of modern research practices. TRB is uniquely suited for this purpose for many reasons: TRB maintains an extensive com- mittee structure from which authorities on any highway transportation subject may be drawn; TRB possesses avenues of communications and cooperation with federal, state, and local governmental agencies, univer- sities, and industry; TRB’s relationship to the National Academies is an insurance of objectivity; and TRB maintains a full-time staff of special- ists in highway transportation matters to bring the findings of research directly to those in a position to use them. The program is developed on the basis of research needs identified by chief administrators and other staff of the highway and transportation departments, by committees of AASHTO, and by the Federal Highway Administration. Topics of the highest merit are selected by the AASHTO Special Committee on Research and Innovation (R&I), and each year R&I’s recommendations are proposed to the AASHTO Board of Direc- tors and the National Academies. Research projects to address these topics are defined by NCHRP, and qualified research agencies are selected from submitted proposals. Administration and surveillance of research contracts are the responsibilities of the National Academies and TRB. The needs for highway research are many, and NCHRP can make significant contributions to solving highway transportation problems of mutual concern to many responsible groups. The program, however, is intended to complement, rather than to substitute for or duplicate, other highway research programs. Published research reports of the NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM are available from Transportation Research Board Business Office 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 and can be ordered through the Internet by going to http://www.national-academies.org and then searching for TRB Printed in the United States of America NCHRP RESEARCH REPORT 921 Project 08-103 ISSN 2572-3766 (Print) ISSN 2572-3774 (Online) ISBN 978-0-309-48099-4 Library of Congress Control Number 2019955061 © 2019 National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. COPYRIGHT INFORMATION Authors herein are responsible for the authenticity of their materials and for obtaining written permissions from publishers or persons who own the copyright to any previously published or copyrighted material used herein. Cooperative Research Programs (CRP) grants permission to reproduce material in this publication for classroom and not-for-profit purposes. Permission is given with the understanding that none of the material will be used to imply TRB, AASHTO, FAA, FHWA, FMCSA, FRA, FTA, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology, PHMSA, or TDC endorsement of a particular product, method, or practice. It is expected that those reproducing the material in this document for educational and not-for-profit uses will give appropriate acknowledgment of the source of any reprinted or reproduced material. For other uses of the material, request permission from CRP. NOTICE The research report was reviewed by the technical panel and accepted for publication according to procedures established and overseen by the Transportation Research Board and approved by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The opinions and conclusions expressed or implied in this report are those of the researchers who performed the research and are not necessarily those of the Transportation Research Board; the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; or the program sponsors. The Transportation Research Board; the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; and the sponsors of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program do not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers’ names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the object of the report.

The National Academy of Sciences was established in 1863 by an Act of Congress, signed by President Lincoln, as a private, non- governmental institution to advise the nation on issues related to science and technology. Members are elected by their peers for outstanding contributions to research. Dr. Marcia McNutt is president. The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to bring the practices of engineering to advising the nation. Members are elected by their peers for extraordinary contributions to engineering. Dr. John L. Anderson is president. The National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine) was established in 1970 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to advise the nation on medical and health issues. Members are elected by their peers for distinguished contributions to medicine and health. Dr. Victor J. Dzau is president. The three Academies work together as the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation and conduct other activities to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions. The National Academies also encourage education and research, recognize outstanding contributions to knowledge, and increase public understanding in matters of science, engineering, and medicine. Learn more about the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine at www.national-academies.org. The Transportation Research Board is one of seven major programs of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The mission of the Transportation Research Board is to provide leadership in transportation improvements and innovation through trusted, timely, impartial, and evidence-based information exchange, research, and advice regarding all modes of transportation. The Board’s varied activities annually engage about 8,000 engineers, scientists, and other transportation researchers and practitioners from the public and private sectors and academia, all of whom contribute their expertise in the public interest. The program is supported by state transportation departments, federal agencies including the component administrations of the U.S. Department of Transportation, and other organizations and individuals interested in the development of transportation. Learn more about the Transportation Research Board at www.TRB.org.

C O O P E R A T I V E R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M S CRP STAFF FOR NCHRP RESEARCH REPORT 921 Christopher J. Hedges, Director, Cooperative Research Programs Lori L. Sundstrom, Deputy Director, Cooperative Research Programs William C. Rogers, Senior Program Officer Jarrel McAfee, Senior Program Assistant Eileen P. Delaney, Director of Publications Natalie Barnes, Associate Director of Publications Scott E. Hitchcock, Senior Editor NCHRP PROJECT 08-103 PANEL Field of Transportation Planning—Area of Planning Methods and Processes Stephen Cyrus “Steve” Guenther, California DOT, Sacramento, CA (Chair) Scott David Zainhofsky, North Dakota DOT, Bismarck, ND Christopher M. Diaczok, Maryland State Highway Administration, Hanover, MD Ronald L. Johnston, J. Lee Milligan, Amarillo, TX David A. Solsrud, Minnesota DOT, Hawick, MN Pamela M. Thurber, Vermont Agency of Transportation, Montpelier, VT David Wasserman, North Carolina DOT, Raleigh, NC Nadarajah Sivaneswaran, FHWA Liaison Matthew Hardy, AASHTO Liaison Thomas M. Palmerlee, TRB Liaison

NCHRP Research Report 921: Case Studies in Implementing Cross-Asset, Multi-Objective Resource Allocation extends and implements the results of NCHRP Report 806: Cross-Asset Resource Allocation and the Impact on System Performance. Case studies were used to illustrate key issues in implementing a cross-asset resource allocation approach, and the lessons learned were then used to improve the guidance and tools developed in NCHRP Report 806. In addition, a web tool was developed to enable the use of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) in the optimization step of the implementation process and to demonstrate use of a web service that transportation agencies can use in their own web applications to automate DEA analysis. In NCHRP Project 08-103, Spy Pond Partners, with the assistance of High Street Con- sulting Group and Burns & McDonnell, were asked to demonstrate the implementation of the prototype cross-asset resource allocation tool developed in NCHRP Report 806 and address a broad range of activities related to cross-asset resource allocation and its use, including (1) evaluation criteria for measuring the value of implementing the pro- totype cross-asset resource allocation tool; (2) conducting of case studies with DOTs or MPOs to test the prototype cross-asset resource allocation tool on a minimum of three asset or investment types; (3) development of a self-assessment method for transporta- tion agencies considering the adoption of the prototype cross-asset allocation tool; (4) lessons learned in each study; and (5) sources for the data required for the prototype cross-asset resource allocation tool. The Cross-Asset Resource Allocation Spreadsheet Tool (CARATS) can be found on the AASHTO web site at http://caratview.com. Documentation in this report may be superseded by updated tool documentation on the AASHTO site. F O R E W O R D By William C. Rogers Staff Officer Transportation Research Board

1 Chapter 1 Introduction 1 Background 1 Research Objective 2 Research Approach 2 Report Organization 3 References 4 Chapter 2 Cross-Asset Resource Allocation Overview 4 Characteristics of the Cross-Asset Resource Allocation Problem 5 Approaches for Supporting Cross-Asset Resource Allocation 6 Cross-Asset Resource Allocation Framework 7 References 8 Chapter 3 Case Studies Illustrating Cross-Asset, Multi-Objective Resource Allocation Approaches 8 Case Study 1: Arizona Department of Transportation 19 Case Study 2: California Department of Transportation 29 Case Study 3: Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission 37 Case Study 4: Maryland Department of Transportation 47 References 49 Chapter 4 Guidance for Implementing a Cross-Asset Resource Allocation Approach 49 Overview 49 Step 1: Establish the Scope 51 Step 2: Define Goals and Objectives 53 Step 3: Select Performance Measures and Evaluation Criteria 56 Step 4: Assess Data and Analytical Capabilities 57 Step 5: Prototype the Approach 59 Step 6: Set Weights on Goals and Objectives 60 Step 7: Apply the Model 61 Step 8: Communicate the Results 62 References 63 Chapter 5 Tools for Supporting Cross-Asset Resource Allocation 63 Cross-Asset Resource Allocation Spreadsheet Tool 90 Cross-Asset Resource Allocation Web Tool 91 CARAT Home Page 99 Chapter 6 Conclusions and Suggested Research C O N T E N T S

101 Appendix Data Envelopment Analysis Overview 101 Definition 101 Application to Project Prioritization 102 Discussion 103 References