It has become clear that decisions on the funding of schemes for road construction and major maintenance should include estimates of the future costs associated with the different alternatives available on each scheme. The future costs should also include costs incurring by the road user. To assist in these assessments, the Department of Transport has funded a research project to develop a whole life cost model for road pavements. The model is now known as COMPARE. The model can examine the costs associated with flexible or rigid pavements for each of the road types now managed by the Highways Agency. The paper describes the main components of the model and illustrates the effects on whole life cost caused by changes in some of the main parameters of the model. (A)
Abstract