Doug Kreis

Early Stage Benefit Cost Analysis for Estimating Economic Impacts

This study reviewed the various software packages and other methods in use for estimating the economic impacts of proposed transportation projects. A total of 13 economic software packages were examined as potential applications in meeting Kentucky Transportation Cabinets (KYTC’s) business needs. It was determined that only the TREDIS model from the Economic Development Research Group, Inc. or the TranSight model from Regional Economic Models, Inc. could potentially meet Kentucky’s needs as defined in the project. Both the TREDIS model and the TranSight model are comparable in their economic forecasting abilities. They are also similar in that both require the input of data from a travel demand model—usually HERS. The economic benefit outputs for both models are the same including predicted: employment by industry; output by business/industry; wage rates; and gross domestic/regional product. The TREDIS model appears to calculate economic benefits for a wider range of transportation projects, mostly the smaller scale types such as intersection reconstruction. But the REMI-TranSight model will be more economical to acquire and run over the long term and has a longer list of clients.

Statewide Planning Scenario Synthesis: Transportation Congestion Measurement and Management

This study is a review of current practices in 13 states to: (1) measure traffic congestion and its costs; and (2) manage congestion with programs and techniques that do not involve the building of new highway capacity. In regard to the measures of congestion, the findings suggest two broad conclusions: (a) The most popular measures are not level of service (LOS) or volume to capacity ratios; but rather the direct measures of either average time to traverse the distance between two points, or the average speed of vehicles. These are sometimes used to construct estimates of delay during peak traffic periods. (b) Five of the 13 states are either using or trying to devise more complex measures of congestion, measures that include estimates of the various costs associated with congestion. Regarding congestion management, most of the 13 states are implementing the 10 congestion management techniques identified by the study. When asked to rank the most effective techniques, the top four were incident management programs, signal coordination, traffic management centers, and access management.

A Four-Step Process to Assess the Fiscal Performance and Sufficiency of State Road Funds

Aging transportation infrastructure and diminishing financial resources are challenging the management of state transportation systems. Policy makers and administrators are seeking fiscal performance measurement tools to better monitor and manage infrastructure. This article discusses and applies a four-step process to examine past revenue and expenditure trends to determine transportation expenditure sufficiency for state road funds, using the Kentucky Road Fund as a template. A comprehensive approach to this issue is utilized by demonstrating several possible measures of sufficiency and then presenting some future scenarios. Expenditures across various facets of the transportation system are then analyzed with a number of performance metrics as well as construction cost measures to estimate sufficiency. Finally, short-term forecasts of several revenue scenarios are presented to provide context for possible future funding levels under the current revenue regime. The Kentucky case study provides a template to analyze state road funds and potentially draw conclusions as to the continued solvency and state of transportation infrastructure. As policy makers better understand the sufficiency of road fund resources to meet transportation priorities, they will better understand the costs of meeting future transportation needs and the opportunity costs of diverting transportation resources to other policy priorities.

Assessment of Kentucky's Road Fund

Kentuckys Road Fund serves as the primary source of funds for the states roadway system. Motor fuels taxes and motor vehicle usage taxes are the two main components of Road Fund revenues. In recent years, there has been concern about the ability of the Road Fund, as currently constituted, to provide sufficient revenue to meet the funding needs for Kentuckys transportation system. This could impact the ability of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet to maintain Kentuckys transportation system at current service levels. The reliance on traditional funding methods is presenting challenges and will likely continue to do so. In view of these challenges, the effects of relying on such funding mechanisms in the future must be examined to determine the level of revenues that will be available and whether those revenues can maintain the current level of services provided by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.

Today's DOT and the Quest for More Accountable Organizational Structures

This study investigates the impact of Department of Transportation (DOT) organizational structures on effective transportation planning and performance. A review of the 50 state DOT authorizing statutes and DOT organizational charts found minimal differences in organizational structures among the states. However, 37 states have quasi-independent commissions (sometimes called boards, or councils). A statistical analysis showed that the commission states have higher Government Performance Project (GPP) scores than the non-commission states. The analysis suggested that effective commissions avoid having members represent geographical regions and political parties and avoid giving the commission the power to select the director of the DOT. In addition the states with effective DOTs staff their commissions with citizens, not politicians, and give the commission oversight authority, a policy formation role and a clear mission. In the second phase of the study, five case studies of high performing commission states were conducted to obtain best practices. The high performing states were found to institutionalize practices and rules to improve performance and accountability. These structured practices and rules were designed to do the following: (1) reduce political involvement in project selection; (2) hold statewide, regional and local meetings to increase transparency and trust; (3) empower their district offices to make decisions regarding system maintenance and preservation; (4) establish formal waste reduction techniques and processes; (5) allocate road fund resources on a consistent and objective basis; and (6) ensure sufficient funds are available to complete projects on time and on budget.

Jurisdictional Roadside Ditches

Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) mandates that state agencies and other entities perform compensatory mitigation when their activities impair jurisdictional waters. In the Commonwealth of Kentucky, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) is required to pay in-lieu fees or purchase stream mitigation credits when a roadside ditch is impaired or relocated as part of a road construction project. In-lieu fees and stream mitigation credits are costly, and ditches that have suffered degraded habitat and loss of hydrogeomorphic functionality are treated as total losses when they are impacted by construction and maintenance activities. This raises the question of whether the United States Corps of Engineers (USACE) would be receptive to alternative mitigation and monitoring practices that impose a less stringent financial burden on the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, but which still comply with CWA regulations. This report discusses methodologies used to evaluate the quality of instream and riparian habitat, Section 404 of the CWA and its implications for mitigation of lost or damaged jurisdictional ditches, and the strategies that have been used by other states to fulfill their Section 404 mitigation requirements. The authors highlight mitigation practices that depart from the norm and which place a less onerous financial burden on state transportation agencies. KYTC officials presented this report’s key findings to the USACE Louisville District Office in January 2015 in an effort to receive approval to experiment with novel restoration techniques. The USACE granted KYTC license to implement these techniques on a project-by-project basis. Before implementation on each project, the Cabinet must receive formal approval from USACE officials. Although this was not the blanket mandate that KYTC hoped for, it indicated the Louisville District is willing to study the effectiveness of alternative mitigation strategies. Despite the Cabinet’s request, USACE officials did not approve a plan to reduce post-restoration monitoring requirements. Kentucky Transportation Center (KTC) researchers suggested that KYTC perform exhaustive monitoring of the performance of completed projects that used alternative mitigation techniques. Having information on the short-, medium-, and long-term performance of these sites could – if the results are promising – pave the way to the wider adoption of alternative mitigation practices and could eventually reduce the level of post-restoration monitoring required by the USACE.

Audit Template for Inland Port Sustainability

This report serves as an assessment of port sustainability and its potential applications for the inland river ports of Kentucky and the surrounding region. The report discusses and defines sustainability, both generally as it relates to business and industry and specifically as it relates to the port industry. Given the unique nature of the inland port industry, the report reviews lessons learned from 11 port site visits conducted by Kentucky Transportation Center in 2012, primarily at major U.S. coastal ports but also representative inland ports. The Kentucky Transportation Centers (KTC’s) analysis identifies the sustainability challenges facing various domestic and international ports, and what policy and operating initiatives are being undertaken to meet these challenges. This report then discusses KTC’s progress in tailoring the sustainability process identified during these visits to the inland port industry. Field visits to 13 public ports along the Ohio River were conducted in order to develop a sustainability self-assessment tool, which took the lessons learned at coastal ports and large-scale inland ports and applied them to the inland ports of Kentucky and the surrounding regions. From these visits and the associated research, an audit template has been developed that allows inland port operators to assess and improve sustainability levels. The wealth of information compiled in this report, along with the associated appendices, will prove invaluable to the inland port industry. The research relayed to the industry has already proven to be a boon to the ports that participated in the project. The preliminary results indicate that ports along the region’s inland waterways would have little difficulty improving their sustainability profiles at low expense, so long as they follow the advice laid out by this report and the audit template.

Inland Waterways Funding Mechanisms Synthesis

The inland waterway system is a vital part of the nation’s multi-modal freight network. Although less visible than other modes, inland waterways allow shippers to transport bulk commodities in a relatively cheap and environmentally-friendly method. To ensure this transportation mode remains a feasible option and accommodates growth, it must continue to be safe, efficient, and functional. This synthesis provides comprehensive perspective on the financial prospects of the inland waterways system. It analyzes current funding levels, along with proposed funding changes and reforms.

2013 Barge and Rail Symposium: Moving Freight Between Multimodal Systems

Currently, there is no annual meeting at which researchers doing work on freight transportation shipped on the inland waterways and railways gather to present their findings to a broad cross section of government, industry, and academic stakeholders. Given the role multimodal freight movements will play in steering US economic growth over the next 20-30 years, this oversight demanded corrective action. This corrective action came in the form of the 2013 Barge and Rail Symposium organized by the Kentucky Transportation Center. This conference promoted discussions between stakeholders researching the US inland waterway system and rail network as well as businesses who rely on these transportation assets. With freight transportation as its focal point, the 2013 Barge and Rail Symposium established a collegial environment in which new bonds were forged between major stakeholders and researchers as they discussed challenges and opportunities associated with moving freight in an economic, efficient, and sustainable manner through multimodal systems.