Social And Economic Factors In Highway Location

The selection of system and individual highway plans in urban areas is a complex and difficult process. Social and economic factors must be considered along with elements used in the typical benefit-cost ratios. A method is presented for considering social and economic costs in urban highway planning, that is being used by the Chicago Area Transportation Study. At the system level, it is difficult to evaluate precise social costs. However, a method has been devised to determine system user costs and spacing requirements. For individual route location, a procedure is described that considers (1) traffic improvements, (2) impact on existing communities, and (3) potential land use improvements for alternative locations.