BACKGROUND
Transportation professionals have numerous analytical tools to assess aspects of system performance. However, those tools do not bridge the critical linkages among agency values or illustrate relationships among multiple variables to adequately represent the state of transportation system health. The tools also do not reflect the evolution of what communities expect of transportation agencies. Agencies are now expected not only to deliver infrastructure assets for mobility but also to develop access-oriented approaches to enable community success. This is shown by the societal goals and foundational factors identified in Critical Issues in Transportation for 2024 and Beyond and by the vision and goals identified in NCHRP Research Results Digest 404: Collective and Individual Actions to Envision and Realize the Next Era of America’s Transportation Infrastructure: Phase 1.
Additionally, the tools available to transportation agencies today are often limited by scalability and resource constraints, and their outputs are typically oriented toward technical users, such as asset managers. As a result, the insights provided by these tools are not easily communicated to agency leadership, elected officials, partner agencies, or the public—key stakeholders in decision-making processes. Research is needed to help agencies (1) create a process for defining transportation system health that reflects their values, needs, contexts, and characteristics, and (2) communicate with the public and elected officials about the state of their systems and needs.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this research is to develop a guide for defining, assessing, and monitoring multimodal transportation system health through a decision matrix. This matrix will allow transportation agencies to select opt in/opt out measures and components and apply variable weights to reflect their unique values, strategic priorities, and contextual factors.
Accomplishment of the project objective will require at least the following tasks.
TASKS
The sequencing of tasks to achieve the research objective and associated deliverables, such as technical memoranda or summary reports, shall be structured in the same cadence as quarterly progress report (QPR) submissions so that technical content can be reviewed at the same time as a QPR. The overall research plan must be organized into three phases. The research team shall deliver an interim report and updated research plan at the end of Phases I and II. One month shall be reserved for review and NCHRP approval for each interim report. NCHRP approval is required to advance to the next phase. An in-person interim meeting shall follow Phase I, and a virtual interim meeting shall follow Phase II.
PHASE I
The research team will conduct a review of the existing body of literature, practices, and tools related to transportation system health. This phase will be foundational in guiding the development of a robust assessment matrix in later phases. Key activities will include:
- Assessing existing decision-making tools
- Identify and analyze current decision-making tools used by transportation agencies. The review should cover what these tools accomplish, how they are applied, and their potential for use in assessing and monitoring transportation system health. The research team will determine the strengths and limitations of these tools in the context of the evolving expectations for system performance.
- Identifying components for a transportation system health index
- Explore the key components that could form the basis of a transportation system health index. This analysis will include components aligned with agency visions and broader societal goals, including safety, accessibility, resilience, sustainability, economic vitality, innovation, and system reliability. The research should also address (1) how these components reflect the dynamic relationship between transportation infrastructure and community well-being, and (2) the potential to integrate traditional and emerging measures and tools.
- Investigating methods for assessing and quantifying risks
- Investigate approaches to assess, qualify, and quantify risks at both the enterprise and asset levels that could impact an agency's ability to achieve or maintain transportation system health. This will include exploring risk assessment tools, metrics, processes to identify vulnerabilities, and strategies for mitigating risks that threaten long-term system performance.
PHASE II
In the second phase, the research team will use the Phase I findings to identify a system-level matrix of performance-driven and evidence-based methods for defining, assessing, and monitoring the components of transportation system health. It is envisioned that the matrix will allow transportation agencies to opt in to or out of components, measures, and variable weights to reflect their situation and needs. This includes the ability to integrate asset performance and risk management. The research team shall identify communication tools and techniques for agency practitioners to discuss system health. An annotated outline for the draft guide shall be included in the updated Phase III research plan.
PHASE III
In the third phase, pilots shall be conducted with transportation agencies of different sizes representing different levels of government to build case examples on how to execute the recommendations of the research and be sure local governments and metropolitan planning organizations can work with their state departments of transportation through the matrix to improve transportation system health. The research team will reflect on the case examples to refine recommendations and prepare a guide and the supplemental deliverables. The guide will provide the steps for transportation agencies to create the matrix with specific steps and instructions to self-build and customize.
For the proposal, the final deliverables will be at least:
- The guide with the decision matrix (due no later than four months prior to the contract expiration)
- A conduct of research report
- A PowerPoint presentation with speaker notes that summarizes the project and distinctly illustrates for a broader audience how the research can be applied
- An implementation plan
STATUS: Proposals have been received in response to the RFP. The project panel will meet to select a contractor to perform the work.