The object of this study is to reveal the highway construction cost trend after hurricane Katrina and Rita in Louisiana. The method to reveal the impact is to build a Louisiana Highway Construction Index (LHCI). This index is made up with the cost of construction material, labor and equipment of 6 major material categories in highway construction. The data is from projects let in the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development from 2003 to the 2nd quarter of 2007. The indices were built for statewide, hurricane impacted areas (GO Zone) and non-GO Zones. The indices revealed that two quarters after hurricane Katrina and Rita, the highway construction cost jumped about 20% statewide and 51% in GO Zone. Two years after the hurricanes, the cost has stabilized to around 30% increase over the pre Katrina and Rita period. This study provides valuable information for the state agency to estimate cost escalation in on-going projects and to estimate future disaster response to highway construction costs. Keywords: Highway construction cost, index, hurricane
Samenvatting