Pavement and bridge cost allocation analysis of the Ontario, Canada, intercity highway network

Continuous growth of road transportation demand has resulted in soaring rates of road deterioration and maintenance costs. Full road cost recovery by direct charging of road users is gaining more popularity as governments face pressure to reduce general taxes, and full road cost recovery can promote more efficient use of the road system. A sound charging system requires reliable models for infrastructure deterioration and sound methodologies for cost allocation. In Ontario, new pavement performance models have been recently developed with more emphasis on separating the effects of traffic from the effects of environmental forces on flexible pavements in different geographic locations. The recent models and data have been used to investigate the cost implications of different vehicle configurations and road characteristics for the Ontario pavements and bridges. The results are used for the allocation of costs to various users of the road system. The results generally have implied that initial road design specifications, vehicle configurations, and the types and locations of roads could significantly affect user cost responsibilities. The analyses determined that proper selection of vehicles and payload amounts could result in up to 6 percent savings in pavement costs. The analyses showed that a fair and efficient cost allocation can be achieved by consideration of various vehicle and road characteristics and their interrelated cost implications, rather than solely on the basis of damage implications of each vehicle.