Based on a need to bring existing infrastructure up to an acceptable standard and the need for new infrastructure, governments are overwhelmed with the number of projects which cannot possibly all be dealt with in today's tight economic environment. Often, needs and expenditure are justified through operational, safety, technical and cost-benefit analysis. The expenditures being made also have far-reaching impacts on our society, economy and environment affecting such aspects as existing service, accessibility, equity and safety. As such a framework is needed that will also include and put into perspective these softer and indirect impacts of transportation. The `generic' socio-impact framework proposed in this paper will try not only to capture the traditional `hard' and quantifiable impacts but also `soft' and qualitative ones. In this paper an attempt is made to refine and modify the `generic' framework for application to the highway mode. Further, it has been tested on a case study. A brief analysis of the results will be presented along with comments and suggestions for improvement. Recommendations for further research and ways to operationalize the framework will be discussed. The need to extend and develop the framework for other transportation modes will be discussed as well. (A)
Abstract