01474913

Component

The evaluation and prioritization of transportation investments at the portfolio level presents a complex decision-making problem for state and regional planning organizations. Historically, transportation investment decisions have been dealt with as a series of stand-alone problems that could be resolved using straight-forward engineering solutions. In this context, improvement needs and project solutions were identified based on simple criteria, such as traffic congestion levels. Investment portfolio optimization was accomplished by listing projects in order of most to least congestion reducing, and then allocating funding to projects by rank until funding is exhausted. Recently, increasing awareness of the complex interdependencies among transportation, land-use, social, economic and ecological systems has fostered implementation of multi-criteria analysis (MCA) investment prioritization approaches that incorporate increasingly more complex goals and metrics. The simplest MCA decision model is the Weighted Sum Model (WSM). More rigorous methods, such as the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the Technique for Ordered Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS), provide increased functionality, and support prioritization that is driven by asset performance and financial return in addition to engineering criteria. This paper examines the suitability of alternative decision models for the optimization of transportation investment priorities across full programs/portfolios. A Logic Scoring of Preference (LSP) approach is contrasted to the WSM approach that is currently used by the Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments (PPACG), as well as to an enhanced linear programming optimization (OPT) algorithm approach. Functionality, advantages, disadvantages of each method are discussed, and potential enhancements for each approach are identified.

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ADA50 Transportation Programming, Planning, and Systems Evaluation.

01470560

13-1830
13-1830

English

17p

2013

Transportation Research Board 92nd Annual Meeting

Digital/other

Figures; References; Tables

Capital investments; Decision support systems; Infrastructure; Long range planning; Mathematical models; Multiple criteria decision making; Optimization

Data and Information Technology; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; I21: Planning of Transport Infrastructure; I70: Traffic and Transport

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2013 Paper #13-1830

PRP, TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Feb 5 2013 12:26PM