The Cost of Construction Delays and Traffic Control for Life-Cycle Cost Analysis of Pavements

The objective of this report is to provide the Kentucky Department of Transportation Cabinent a reliable approach to quantifying / calculating “Road User Cost” — often refered to as total user delay costs. To meet this objective, this report is divided into three main sections. The first section summarizes the reviews of three relatively new computer programs that can be used to help quantified delayed traffic incurred by the presence of a work zone. From this review, one program was selected based on its’ user friendliness and ability to define both quantity of delayed traffic and queue length. The second section compares actual field data to the output of the selected program to help determine the programs’ reliability/ predictability in determining both quantity of delayed traffic and queue lengths. The last section summarizes typical hourly use cost rates by vehicle types, (i.e. vehicle operating costs, delay costs, and accident crash costs) that have been used by other agencies. By combining the output from the selected program, and these typical user cost rates, one may be able to determine the total user delay costs associated with a highway construction project.