Highway engineers are expected by the public to maintain continuously adequate roads, while the highway authorities expect a prudent use of available funds (Bulman and Weatherall, 1990). It is common and advisable to do a cost analysis of various road surfacing materials when considering major construction on a particular stretch of roadway. Generally, such analysis would include costs to the agency or firm conducting the work, such as the cost of the initial construction, detour cots, and maintenance costs during the estimated lifetime of the project. However, such an analysis would yield results that more accurately reflect the costs and benefits to society if costs borne primarily by the public could be included in the decision-making framework. These costs are proper to include for a government agency, whose ultimate function is to serve the public. The purpose of this paper is to provide explanations and rationales for an accompanying computer program, which models costs of alternative road surfacing materials over the lifetime of a stretch of road. A quick reference guide to the worksheets and an example of the calculations involved are included as appendices. This document is intended to be used as a guide. Some cost functions may be deleted if appropriate. It has been prepared in conjunction with Graig Gilbertson, an engineer with the Minnesota Department of Transportation, and is intended for use in analyzing public roads.
