Evaluating Economic Analysis Alternatives in the Transportation Decision Making Process

Transportation and economic development are critical to ensure the vitality of any state or province. To maintain an efficient transportation system and provide the infrastructure necessary for economic development and growth, transportation funding must be used efficiently. Primarily when considering the increase of capacity on the transportation network, funding availability oftentimes places constraints on the extent of the capacity that can be increased. To allocate necessary resources to the transportation system, most government agencies establish priorities for funding consideration. Economic vitality of the project on the region, combined with the impacts of the project to the economy as a whole, should be considered when making important decisions on allocating transportation funds. There was a need to evaluate the potential economic development impacts of transportation improvement projects and the tools available for incorporating possible economic evaluation metrics into the transportation decision making process in the state of Utah. The purpose of this paper is to report the results of a research project to evaluate this need in the state.