Transportation agencies regularly consider trade-offs between investment options to address competing priorities with limited resources. Inadequate funding for all needed transportation improvements forces agencies to make difficult decisions across asset classes, such as mobility improvements versus preservation or on-going maintenance versus system expansion projects. The results of these decisions can have a positive impact on one performance measure but a negative impact on another. For instance, increasing funds to address mobility issues through the construction of new roads and bridges can divert needed funding from planned long-term asset management activities that are vital to minimize the life cycle costs necessary for sustainable system performance. In this example, the investment to address mobility improves traffic reliability measures but may lead to lower asset conditions.
In addition to factors such as system preservation, mobility, and safety when making transportation investment decisions, equity is also an important consideration. Interest in finding ways to strengthen equity considerations is growing, as evidenced by its prominence at the 13th National Conference on Transportation Asset Management sponsored by the Transportation Research Board (TRB) in August 2021 and the TRB Advancing Transportation Equity Conference held virtually in September 2021.
The FHWA’s Transportation Asset Management Expert Task Group (TAM ETG) recognized the importance of equity as an emerging topic and prepared this document to explore existing initiatives underway in State, local, and regional transportation agencies to better consider equity in asset management decisions. The results indicate that equity considerations are more common in transportation planning activities than in asset management decisions impacting project selection. Therefore, the document presents suggestions for advancing the consideration of equity in asset management investment decisions.
To read the case studies, go to: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/asset/pubs/hif23033.pdf