Application of Highway Capacity Manual 2010 Level-of-Service Methodologies for Planning Deficiency Analysis

Influence on investment in the infrastructure is critical for decision-making by State planning departments. Judgments which are made for funding purposes and are based on limited data analysis by states can results in economic disasters for the state and nation. The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) uses the Evaluation of Roadway Efficiency (EVE) database to prioritize the importance of roadway projects in the state. In addition, EVE is also used as a method to provide deficiency analysis results for roadways in the state. This study will add support to the methodology of the current decision-making process in regards to Tennessee roadways for planning. Updating the current deficiency analysis program (EVE) with the methodologies of the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) 2010 is the foundation for improving the decision-making abilities of those using EVE for such efforts. New algorithms have been developed based upon the procedures in the HCM 2010 for the following sections: Freeway, Two-Lane Highways, Multilane Highways, and Urban Arterials. Using these algorithms and data from Washington County in Tennessee, level-of-service results were analyzed and compared to previous deficiency analysis results. Some of these results were found to be better and other were found to be worse than the previous. The new method of the HCM 2010 applied in this procedure changed 60% of the level of service ratings based on the comparable data. This proves to show the update of the deficiency analysis method currently used will be beneficial in the assistance of the decision-making process.