Maintaining and operating the US$1.75 trillion transportation system is big business. Most United States state transportation agencies are experiencing a major shift in emphasis from building the system to managing the system. With an aging infrastructure, increasing congestion and limited financial resources, sharing, understanding and adopting innovative best practices to provide the best financial return are the keys to maximizing system performance, improving the driver experience and minimizing life-cycle costs. It is clear that that current public and political sentiment in the United States demands greater accountability from the infrastructure owners and operators asset management and performance management are key to such accountability. For any transportation agency, the progression toward asset management involves a myriad of activities. Much can be learned from those who are readily transitioning from capacity builders to system preservation and operations managers. This paper highlights where the states in the USA are today, how they see transportation asset management, and the results of the International and Domestic Scanning Review of Asset Management. Activities associated with the two pre-eminent asset management technical committees in the United States are also presented. In addition a number of current policy issues are noted as well as research gaps. (a) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E217099.
Abstract