Background
In the past two decades, transportation agencies have focused their Transportation Asset Management (TAM) activities on pavements and bridges primarily. More recently, a growing number of transportation agencies have begun to incorporate ancillary structures into their TAM activities. Ancillary structures are defined as lower-cost, higher-quantity assets that also play an important role in the overall success of transportation systems: assets such as traffic signs, traffic signals, roadway lighting, guardrails, culverts, pavement markings, sidewalks and curbs, utilities and manholes, earth retaining structures and environmental mitigation features. Some of these assets are being managed quasi independently while others are being managed together with other assets in an integrated program.
While many DOTs have robust TAM processes for pavements and bridges, many do not have such processes for ancillary structures. Given the importance of performance management principles in anticipated federal legislation, and the role of TAM within performance management processes, better integration of ancillary structures into an asset management program is urgently needed.
Project Objective(s)
The contractor's final report is available HERE.
A presentation that summarizes the project is available HERE.
