This paper presents the findings of the Dawson Highway case study selected to demonstrate the Accelerated Road Rehabilitation Program (ARRP) approach to road infrastructure investment. The aim of studying the ARRP concept is to compare the likely benefits and impacts associated with accelerating road and bridge rehabilitation programs compared with the traditional delivery approach of the Roads Implementation Program (RIP). Under ARRP, the timing of scheduled works is brought forward in order that the resulting benefits to the community become available much earlier than would be the case if the traditional worst first strategy was adopted. These benefits can include safety improvements, savings in vehicle operating and other user costs, and improved freight efficiency. The paper presents the analysis of the Dawson Highway Accelerated Road Rehabilitation Project in Central Queensland, a $AU40 million project involving approximately 71 km of road rehabilitation. Results of the economic analysis indicate that ARRP (compared to RIP) leads to net benefits of $AU15.2 million and $AU67.5 million for a base traffic scenario and a diverted traffic scenario and internal rates of return (IRR) of 14.8 per cent and 37.3 per cent respectively. The financing analysis shows that the accelerated rehabilitation of the Dawson Highway has advantages for Queensland. (a) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E217099.
Abstract