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Benefit-Cost Assessment of a
Maintenance Decision Support System (MDSS) Implementation:
The City and County of Denver

 

Submitted to:

U.S. DOT ITS Joint Program Office

Logo for U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration.

 

December 7 , 2009

 

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Quality Assurance Statement

The U.S. Department of Transportation provides high-quality information to serve Government, industry, and the public in a manner that promotes public understanding.  Standards and policies are used to ensure and maximize the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of its information.  USDOT periodically reviews quality issues and adjusts its programs and processes to ensure continuous quality improvement.

This material is based upon work supported by the Federal Highway Admin-istration under contract number DTFH61-02-C-00134.

Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Federal Highway Administration.

 

 

Technical Report Documentation

1. Report No.
FHWA-JPO-10-018

2. Government Accession No.

3. Recipient’s Catalog No.
EDL #14521

4. Title and Subtitle
Benefit-Cost Assessment of a Maintenance Decision Support System (MDSS) Implementation: The City and County of Denver

5. Report Date
December 7, 2009

6. Performing Organization Code
 

7. Author(s)
Chris Cluett (Battelle), Deepak Gopalakrishna (Battelle)

8. Performing Organization Report

9. Performing Organization Name and Address
Battelle Seattle Research Center
1100 Dexter Avenue North, Suite 400
Seattle, WA  98109-3598

10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS)
 

11. Contract or Grant No.
DTFH61-02-C-00134; Task BA34-027

12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address
United States Department of Transportation
Research and Innovative Technology Administration
Federal Highway Administration, Office of Operations
1200 New Jersey Ave., SE
Washington, DC  20590

13. Type of Report and Period Covered
Final Report
September 2007 - December 2009

14. Sponsoring Agency Code
HOTO

15. Supplementary Notes
Mr. Paul Pisano (COTM)

16. Abstract
The Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, has established a Road Weather Management Program (RWMP) that seeks to improve the safety, mobility and productivity of the nation’s surface transportation modes by integrating meteorology into transportation operations and maintenance. A central activity of the RWMP has been to develop and encourage the deployment of tools to support decision making by transportation operations and maintenance. One of those tools is the Maintenance Decision Support System (MDSS) that offers road maintenance managers guidance regarding efficient tactical deployment of road crews, equipment and materials with the expectation that the MDSS can save state and local Departments of Transportation money and time while also enhancing the safety and mobility of the traveling public. This report presents the results of a Benefit-Cost Assessment (BCA) of the use of an MDSS by the City and County of Denver, Colorado. The MDSS was used over two consecutive winters (2007-2009) and resulted in budget savings that exceeded costs of the system while maintaining the level of service on the road network. Most of those savings are attributable to more effective tactical crew deployment decisions. The nature of the small sized snow events and the local and arterial road system of the City of Denver resulted in limited ability to test the effects of the MDSS treatment module. Overall, the City and County of Denver management and staff were very satisfied with the utility and performance of the MDSS in supporting their maintenance decisions.

17. Key Words
Maintenance Decision Support System (MDSS); road weather forecast; City and County of Denver; Benefit-Cost Assessment; Winter Road Maintenance

18. Distribution Statement
No restrictions. This document is available to the public.

19. Security Classif. (of this report)
Unclassified

20. Security Classif. (of this page)
Unclassified

21. No. of Pages
57

22. Price
N/A

Form DOT F 1700.7  Reproduction of completed page authorized.

 

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful for the enthusiasm and support provided throughout this benefit-cost assessment by William "Pat" Kennedy, Supervisor, Denver Public Works Department. The superintendents, supervisors and truck operators were all very cooperative and supportive of the evaluation of the MDSS over the period of two winters. We learned a lot from them and enjoyed a collegial working relationship with all the staff. Without their assistance in explaining in detail their winter operations and sharing of data regarding each winter storm event, this assessment would not have been possible. In addition, we appreciate the guidance and support of Andy Stern (National Weather Service).

 

Table of Contents

 

Acronym List

AADT

Annual Average Daily Traffic

AVL

Automated Vehicle Location

BCA

Benefit-Cost Assessment

C/C Denver

City and County of Denver

CDOT

Colorado Department of Transportation

DIA

Denver International Airport

DOT

Department of Transportation

ESS

Environmental Sensor Station

FHWA

Federal Highway Administration

GIS

Geographic Information System

LOS

Level of Service

MDC

Mobile Data Computer

MDSS

Maintenance Decision Support System

NCAR

National Center for Atmospheric Research

OT

Overtime

RITA

Research and Innovative Technology Administration.

RPP

Residential Plowing Program

RWIS

Road Weather Information System

RWMP

Road Weather Management Program

USDOT

United States Department of Transportation

 

 

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