Texas Highway Economic Evaluation Model: A Critical Review of Assumptions and Unit Costs and Recommended Updating Procedures

Details

• Creators:
  Buffington, Jesse L. ; McFarland, William F. ; Rollins, John B.
• Corporate Creators:
  Texas Transportation Institute. Texas A&M University
• Corporate Contributors:
  Texas State Department of Highways and Public Transportation ; United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Benefit Cost Analysis Economic Analysis Economic Models Highway Economic Evaluation Model (HEEM) Highways Procedures Proposed Highway Improvements Reviews Travelers
• Publication/ Report Number:
  FHWA/TX-79/13+25-8
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  Texas ; United States
• Edition:
  Interim: September, 1976 - January, 1979
• Corporate Publisher:
  Texas Transportation Institute. Texas A&M University
• Abstract:
  The magnitude of potential highway user benefits and costs resulting from proposed highway improvements must be estimated with a reasonable degree of accuracy for highway agencies to make rational decisions in the public interest. There are procedures, some of which are computerized, in use or available for use to estimate user benefits and costs. One such procedure is the Highway Economic Evaluation Model (HEEM) developed by McKinsey and Company, Inc. and adapted for use in Texas. The HEEM is computerized and designed to evaluate user impacts of building new highways and improving old and existing facilities considering various alternatives, including the "no build" alternative. The Texas version of the HEEM has been in use by Texas State Department of Highways and Public Transportation (SDHPT) since 1975. As a result of questions raised by the SDHPT personnel and others regarding the validity of the HEEM's basic assumptions, unit costs, and updating procedures, a critical review of these aspects of the HEEM was authorized. This report presents the findings of this review. The HEEM's assumed values and unit costs are compared to those reported in the new AASHTO Redbook, another Texas Transportation Institute study, and other data reported in the literature. Procedures (including formulas) for continuous updating of the HEEM's assumed values and unit costs from 1975 to the relevant base year of a proposed highway improvement project are described and ~ recommended in this report. The data are reported in narrative, graphic, and tabular form. Implementation of the findings and recommendations of this report should result in more accurate estimates generated from the HEEM.
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  2-8-77-225
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:da1fd0f7a9d9ac9ce119044694707bb6e1761818306d34a5af15d2ad072b59f33ac16391bf600c8f935b36e81077277a46bb28eb3c40c08b11ac3e11a78db272
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/85662/dot_85662_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.44 MB ]