Document Library

This guide provides a structured roadmap for agencies seeking to implement performance-based contracting (PBC) to support proactive road asset management. Drawing on decades of international experience, it outlines how to design, scale, and manage PBC programs—from pilot projects to network-wide applications—across varying levels of agency maturity.

Practitioners will find guidance on using PBC to improve asset condition, enhance safety and resilience outcomes, and shift from reactive maintenance to performance-driven service delivery. The document also includes diagnostic approaches and implementation strategies that help agencies align contracting practices with broader TAM and performance management objectives.

This document supports implementation of system-level transportation asset valuation, helping agencies translate asset inventories and condition data into meaningful measures of asset value. The resource provides case studies, worksheets, and outreach materials that demonstrate how agencies can apply asset valuation methods to support financial reporting, communicate infrastructure needs, and evaluate investment strategies.

Practitioners will gain practical guidance on using asset valuation to track system condition trends, demonstrate the impact of funding decisions, and strengthen transportation asset management (TAM) programs. The materials complement the AASHTO Asset Valuation Guide and include tools that help agencies integrate asset valuation concepts into planning, performance management, and investment decision-making.

This synthesis examines how State DOTs fund, manage, and coordinate the maintenance of Complete Streets infrastructure, including bicycle, pedestrian, and other active transportation facilities. As agencies expand multimodal networks, the report highlights practical challenges such as equipment compatibility, staffing capacity, and ongoing maintenance funding.

Practitioners will find examples of maintenance policies, interagency cost-sharing agreements, and partnership models involving local and tribal governments. The report also identifies strategies for workforce training, equipment procurement, and operational coordination that can help agencies sustain Complete Streets investments over time.

NCHRP Research Report 1149: Estimating Benefits of Closing Gaps in Active Transportation Networks: A Guide provides practical methods for evaluating the benefits of projects that improve connectivity in walking, bicycling, and rolling networks. Active transportation systems—including trails, sidewalks, bike lanes, and connected roadways—play a critical role in supporting safe, convenient travel for both recreation and everyday trips, yet many communities face fragmented networks with significant gaps. This guide offers accessible analytical approaches that can be applied across diverse geographies and project types, using publicly available datasets and research-based multipliers. Designed for broad usability, the methods rely primarily on national-level data sources to help agencies consistently estimate economic, safety, health, and mobility benefits.

NCHRP Web-Only Document 426, which accompanies the report, documents the development of the guide and summarizes the full research effort behind the recommended methodologies.

NCHRP Research Report 1164: The Business Case for Knowledge Management: A Guide provides state departments of transportation and other transportation agencies with practical tools to assess and measure the value of knowledge management (KM) initiatives. As experienced staff retire and collaboration across disciplines increases, agencies face growing challenges in preserving institutional knowledge and ensuring effective knowledge transfer. The guide outlines approaches for evaluating how KM practices contribute to improved business processes, workforce development, and organizational performance. It helps agencies articulate the return on investment of KM activities and integrate them into broader performance management strategies.

Accompanying the report, NCHRP Web-Only Document 437: Assessing and Measuring the Business Value of Knowledge Management documents the research effort and provides additional detail supporting the guide’s development.

NCHRP Synthesis 659: Automated Traffic Signal Performance Measures: Management, Operation, and Maintenance examines how state departments of transportation are using high-resolution traffic signal controller data to monitor, manage, and improve signal performance. Automated Traffic Signal Performance Measures (ATSPMs) enable continuous, data-driven oversight of traffic operations and maintenance, supporting more proactive and efficient decision-making. While the benefits of ATSPMs are well documented, adoption across state DOTs varies due to challenges such as funding constraints, equipment and technology upgrades, staffing capacity, and organizational readiness. The synthesis highlights current practices, including the use of both controller-based and crowdsourced signal performance measures. It also explores implementation barriers, funding strategies, staffing considerations, and examples of how agencies integrate ATSPMs into day-to-day operational and maintenance workflows.

Recommended Resource: NCHRP Report 1170: Evaluating the Safety Effects of Automated Traffic Signal Performance Measures provides methods and supporting research to help agencies evaluate the safety impacts of Automated Traffic Signal Performance Measures (ATSPMs).

This publication explains how the FHWA Long-Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) database underpins modern pavement performance modeling and performance-based investment decisions. For practitioners, it outlines how LTPP data are used to calibrate and validate Pavement ME design procedures, establish national data collection standards, and support statistically robust performance comparisons under real-world conditions. Agencies interested in strengthening pavement performance forecasting, improving lifecycle cost estimates, or validating local design assumptions will find this a useful overview of available data tools and access points.

Highway construction projects frequently require detours and haul roads that divert traffic, including heavy trucks, onto local roads not originally designed for such loads. These temporary routes can accelerate pavement deterioration, reduce service life, and impose significant maintenance costs on local agencies. Current compensation practices, such as Minnesota’s Gas Tax Method and Equivalent Overlay Method, offer partial solutions but do not fully capture the variability of damage across different pavements and traffic conditions. This study investigates the structural and economic impacts of detours and haul roads on Minnesota’s roadway network and develops a framework for improved evaluation and planning. A comprehensive literature review of empirical and engineering-based approaches to estimating pavement damage is first conducted, along with a survey of compensation practices across U.S. states. Field data are next collected from five detour routes and two haul roads using Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD), and Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR). The results are then used to estimate Remaining Service Life (RSL). Due to significant variability in FWD testing, MnDOT’s calibrated pavement performance curves are applied to estimate damage, with a case study demonstrating that a three-month detour could reduce service life by more than two years. Additionally, a multiclass traffic assignment model is implemented to predict vehicle-type-specific flows under closures, and optimization techniques using genetic algorithms are developed to identify detour routes that minimize truck-related pavement damage while maintaining network efficiency. While the findings provide some practical tools and recommendations for more equitable compensation and improved detour planning, more research is needed to validate the results obtained in this study.

This research presents a quantitative framework to help agencies evaluate trade-offs between safety, efficiency, and equity when redesigning urban streets for multimodal operations and connected/automated vehicle (CAV) integration. The study introduces two complementary tools: a Network Fundamental Diagram (NFD)-based optimization model for system-level performance planning and a multi-agent simulation platform that evaluates real-world interactions among vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists, micromobility, and emerging modes.

Practitioners will gain insight into how to move beyond qualitative Complete Streets guidance by applying measurable objectives—including accessibility gaps, sufficiency thresholds, and maximin equity principles—to corridor and network design. The framework also incorporates advanced safety metrics (e.g., Time-to-Collision and impact severity) to evaluate both conflict likelihood and consequence. Case studies demonstrate how agencies can transparently compare design alternatives and make evidence-based decisions when trade-offs are unavoidable.

Alternative URLs for accessing the report:

https://figshare.com/articles/preprint/Making_CAV_Deployments_Compatible_with_Complete_Streets_Objectives_for_Safe_and_Efficient_Operation_Phase_II/31021405?file=60862168

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/i5ozwm8a4tlje16u6hwjq/Making-CAV-Deployments-Compatible-with-Complete-Streets-Objectives-for-Safe-and-Efficient-Operation-Phase-II-Final-Report.pdf?rlkey=yajzaiq1q36osh1zkiclhv69w&e=1&st=8ofgbte4&dl=0

PIARC: Impact of the Development of Active Transport Modes in Road Tunnels – Current Situation Report and Case Studies examines the growing integration of active transportation modes—such as pedestrians, cyclists, and other vulnerable road users—within road tunnel environments. As cities seek to improve mobility, accessibility, and emissions outcomes, tunnel owners and operators face new safety, design, and operational challenges when authorizing active modes in these confined facilities. This international report compiles and evaluates case studies from around the world, highlighting how tunnels are being constructed or retrofitted to safely accommodate active users through infrastructure adaptations, equipment upgrades, and revised operational procedures.

The document categorizes examples into four approaches: tunnels with safety galleries usable by active modes, tunnels with protected spaces for active users, tunnels with specific geometric or operational adaptations, and tunnels dedicated entirely to active mobility. Drawing on global expert contributions, the report outlines the state of practice and identifies key considerations for safety, risk management, and coordination with emergency services. It provides a foundation for future recommendations to guide decision-making by tunnel owners, designers, safety professionals, and transportation agencies considering active mode integration.