The purpose the project Establishing Performance Measures For Alabama’s Transportation System was to research current transportation system metrics and develop a set a performance measures appropriate for establishing the level of performance for Alabama’s multimodal transportation system and the effectiveness and efficiency by which it is able to supply reasonable user access to jobs, goods, and services (both public and commercial). The multimodal transportation system was defined as the roadway network used by passenger cars, mass transit systems, and freight vehicles, the railway network used for passenger and freight movement, the navigable inland waterways, and general aviation. This project provided the Alabama Department of Transportation with a list of recommended performance measures at the strategic level metrics, overall system level metrics and operational level metrics. The strategic level metrics fell into four categories; (1) Safety, (2) Needs vs. Wants, (3) Economic Development, and (4) System Preservation. The system level metrics included three categories; (1) Percent of System Congested, (2) Travel Cost, and (3) Vehicle Occupancy. The operational level metrics included measures such as travel time, speed, traffic counts and VMT. The final step in the project illustrated the use of the metrics in the transportation system by employing the Alabama Transportation Infrastructure Model (ATIM) to simulate freight and transportation network activity. The use of ATIM as a performance measurement tool allows for improved decisions regarding the investment of scarce ALDOT resources.
Establishing Performance Measures for Alabama’s Transportation System FINAL