A Tool to Select Road Maintenance Contracting Methods

摘要

In every Department of Transportation (DOT), the majority of the budget is expended in maintaining roads, bridges, and interchanges. Generally, three types of road maintenance methods are used: In-House, Method-Based Contract (MBC), and Performance-Based Contract (PBC). Numerous research reports are available to assist DOT maintenance engineers or managers to choose a suitable road maintenance method for their typical maintenance activities. However, these engineers do not have time to go through the bulky reports and guidelines to choose an appropriate maintenance contracting method. The purpose of this study was to develop a standalone software tool to assist DOT maintenance engineers and managers choose the best method for road maintenance activities. Further, this study synthesized several relevant literatures in order to develop criteria for the selection methods. A literature review was conducted to identify the criteria for selecting the methods. The software tool based the selection of methods on a decision-tree diagram. Using this software, the user is able to print out the decision suggested by the software tool, a personal description of the user, project description, and the questions attended by the user. Recommendations regarding the use of this tool and suggestions for further study are discussed.