SIMULATION PROCEDURE FOR AUTOMATIC HIGHWAY NEEDS UPDATING

THIS PAPER DESCRIBES A COMPUTERIZED SYSTEM FOR MAINTAINING A CONTINUOUSLY UPDATED EVALUATION OF HIGHWAY NEEDS, THROUGH SIMULATION OF FUTURE LONG-RANGE IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS. THE SYSTEM IS DESIGNED TO PROVIDE FOR THE DETERMINATION OF HIGHWAY NEEDS AS A REGULAR PART OF A THREEFOLD PLANNING PROCESS INVOLVING (A) THE ESTABLISHMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF A LONG-RANGE HIGHWAY PLAN. (B) THE DETERMINATION OF NEEDS AND PRIORITY FACTORS IN ACHIEVING GOALS, AND (C) THE OBJECTIVE DEVELOPMENT OF CURRENT, SHORT-RANGE (4-5 YEAR) PROGRAMS CONTRIBUTION TO EVENTUAL ACCOMPLISHMENT OF THE LONG-RANGE PLAN. COMPUTER PROGRAMS PROVIDE FOR DETAILED EVALUATIONS OF HIGHWAY AND CITY STREET CHARACTERISTICS AND CONDITIONS AS RELATED TO TRAFFIC SERVICE REQUIREMENTS. THE COMPUTER DETERMINES DEFICIENCIES AND SELECTS AND SCHEDULES FUTURE IMPROVEMENTS. THROUGH A RECYCLING PROCESS, TRAFFIC IS INCREASED ANNUALLY IN KEEPING WITH TRAFFIC ASSIGNMENT PROJECTIONS, CONDITIONS ARE DEPRECIATED BY STATISTICAL FACTORS, AND ROAD OR STREET SECTIONS ARE REEVALUATED EACH YEAR IN THE NEEDS STUDY PERIOD. MAINTENANCE COSTS ARE ASSIGNED TO ROAD SECTIONS EACH YEAR, CHANGING WHEN THE IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM SCHEDULE CALLS FOR A NEW SURFACE TYPE. THE ENTIRE FUTURE HIGHWAY PROGRAM IS SIMULATED IN ACCORDANCE WITH GROUND RULES WHICH MAY BE CHANGED EASILY TO TEST NEEDS ON DIFFERENT PREMISES. /AUTHOR/