Modeling road maintenance management and financing

Abstract

A great deal of research has been carried out over the past few decades into developing models for estimating road transport costs derived from maintenance investment policies. These existing models attempt to estimate the best investment strategy for fixed budgetary resources. However, they do not take into account the effects derived from work productivity increments arising from new contracting formulas. This paper describes a simulation model for estimating the overall benefit derived from the use of different systems for financing road maintenance as well as the productivity achieved in the management of the work. In order to validate the model, the paper ends with an application on a secondary road in Spain. The results of the simulation show that work productivity is extremely important to the optimal level of investment. Moreover, the simulation provides some relevant conclusions in respect to the financing mechanisms tested.