Life-Cycle Cost Analysis: The Pennsylvania Experience

What's Next?

Benjamin Franklin Bridge, Philadelphia

PennDOT practices continuous process improvement with its pavement selection decision process. While the existing pavement selection method has achieved what was only hoped for 20 years ago, the department has decided to contract for a review of its processes. This review will be independent of the department and conducted by pavement experts not employed by PennDOT. Specifically, the review will examine the role of user costs and the accommodation of uncertainty in the analysis. Although PennDOT does not anticipate any major changes in its selection method, the benefits that the LCCA program brings-improved credibility, improved designs, and lower costs-are such that PennDOT wishes to ensure their continuity.

Federal Highway Administration LCCA Products

Available from the Federal Highway Administration are an LCCA Technical Bulletin, the LCCA Primer, and probabilistic pavement LCCA software and its accompanying day-and-a-half workshop. The Technical Bulletin, "Life-Cycle Cost Analysis in Pavement Design," documents best-practice LCCA methods and discusses issues surrounding LCCA. The LCCA Primer is an executive- level treatment of the subject. The software and workshop have been designed to follow best-practice LCCA methods. They allow agencies to investigate the full range of effects on pavement design selection caused by discount rates, user costs, and data uncertainty.

For assistance in implementing an LCCA program or to learn more about these products, please contact the Office of Asset Management at 202-366-0392.

For more information about LCCA, visit the Federal Highway Administration's LCCA Web site: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/asstmgmt/lcca.htm

Further Information

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
Dan Dawood
Chief, Pavement Design and Analysis Section
Bureau of Maintenance and Operations
Commonwealth Keystone Building
400 North Street, 6th Floor
Harrisburg, PA 17120
717-787-4246
DDawood@state.pa.us

PennDOT Pavement Policy Manual
ftp://ftp.dot.state.pa.us/public/Bureaus/BOMO/RM/Publication242.pdf (.pdf, 3 mb)

Photography Credits

Front cover: West End Bridge, Pittsburgh
Inside front cover: Schuylkill Expressway, Philadelphia

FHWA-IF-03-038