Enhancement of Life-Cycle Cost Analysis Tool: RealCost California Customization

摘要

Life-Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) for highway projects is an analytical technique that uses economicprinciples to evaluate long-term alternative investment options, especially for comparing the values ofalternative pavement structures and strategies. Many different approaches and software have beenadopted to undertake LCCA in many transportation agencies in the United States over last decade. In2007 the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) adopted RealCost, the LCCA softwaredeveloped by U.S. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for statewide implementation with majorenhancement and customization. This paper introduces the Caltrans LCCA procedure and describes thefunctions and improvements of the enhanced California version of RealCost software. The firstenhancement is the traffic data module with four representative traffic patterns generated through theCaltrans traffic database system. The second improvement is adding the cost estimating modules forinitial construction and subsequent maintenance and rehabilitation (M&R), based on the Caltranshistorical contract bid database and their design procedure. The third feature is the M&R sequenceautomation with graphical user-friendly interfaces to integrate service life, maintenance frequency, andagency costs with given project constraints such as, climate region, final pavement surface, and designlife. The main focus of the California LCCA enhancement is to improve the efficiency of LCCAprocedures with automatic data selection and computerized calculations. This enhanced RealCostCalifornia version is being adopted as an official LCCA tool to comply with regulatory requirement forCalifornia state highway projects. Utilization of this California-customized LCCA software wouldcontribute to achieve substantial economic benefits for highway projects.