A Data-Driven Method for Prioritizing Projects in Central Idaho

1. A Data-Driven Method for Prioritizing Projects in Central Idaho Prepared for the 2012 ITE Western District Meeting Santa Barbara, California Prepared by Bob Schulte, DKS Associates June 2012

2. Presentation Outline • Development of Corridor Needs Assessment Tool • Findings and Conclusions • Next Steps

3. Coverage Area – District 4

4. Need for Assessment Tool • District 4 Needs • Support was needed for pre-STIP project development process • Dist. 4 had no structured, systematic method for needs identification • Method had to be practical, efficient, and sustainable • ITD Headquarters Requirements • Headquarters grades each district on on-time, on-budget project delivery performance

5. Corridor Needs Assessment Tool

6. Corridor Health Tool

7. STIP Funding Categories • Minor Pavement Preservation (1R) • Pavement Maintenance • Pavement Restoration • Bridge Preservation • Bridge Restoration • Expansion • Highway Safety Improvement

8. Filtering Factors • Filtering factors are applied prior to calculating need scores • Factors reflect minimum eligibility requirements within each funding program • Example – Minor Pavement Preservation Program • Pavement has not structurally failed, but is not in good structural condition • This means: 2.5 < Cracking Index < 3.5

9. Identification of Need Score Factors and Weights • Factors needed to reflect: • Requirements from ITD Headquarters for project development • Factors considered by Dist. 4 in their project selection process • Weights: • Initial set of weights developed once factors defined • Weights revised based on Dist. 4 input

10. Need Score Formula -Pavement Preservation

11. Data Sources • Example data sources: • Highway Data Quest (on-line roadway database) • Dist. 4 High Accident Location (HAL) listing • Traffic volume data from ITD Road Section • Bridge data from ITD Bridge Section • WebCARS (on-line crash records database) • Only new data developed was LOS data

12. System Implementation Corridor Needs Assessment Tool consists of two components: • Excel spreadsheets for calculating and reporting need scores • GIS shape files for graphically displaying levels of need for highway segments

13. Need Score Spreadsheet -Pavement Preservation

14. Need Score Summary

15. Need Score Map -Pavement Preservation • Segments are color-coded by percentile need category • Gray segments are segments that do not meet filters • Maps allow quick first assessment of highest-need segments • Additional information can be obtained by “drilling down” into spreadsheets

16. Findings and Conclusions • Corridor Needs Assessment Tool: • Valuable first-cut method for identifying needs by funding category • Provides a systematic, defensible process for establishing project needs • Identified issues: • Data collection more labor-intensive than anticipated • Needs data is static and reflects existing conditions only

17. Next Steps • Short-term improvements: • Integration of Tool with ITD Transportation Asset Management System (TAMS) • Development of capability to produce future need scores • Long-term improvements: • Variable segmentation of highways for analysis • Linkage of Tool with needs-related databases

18. Bob Schulte DKS Associates TRANSPORTATION SOLUTIONS 720 SW Washington Street, Suite 500 Portland, Oregon  97205 Ph:  503.243.3500 |Cell:  503.504.9086  rjs@dksassociates.com | www.dksassociates.com