Louisiana Highway Construction Cost Trend after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 135, Issue 7
Abstract
The objective of this study was to reveal the trend in highway construction costs following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in Louisiana. The means of measuring highway construction cost was the Louisiana Highway Construction Index, an index made up of the cost of labor, equipment, and six major materials used in highway construction. Data from projects let by the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development from the second quarter of 2003 to the second quarter of 2007 were used to track the change in construction costs. Index values from hurricane-impacted areas (GO Zones) were compared with those in Non-GO Zones. The indices revealed that two quarters after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the highway construction cost jumped about 20% statewide and 51% in GO Zone. Two years after the hurricanes, the cost has stabilized to around 30% increase over the pre-Katrina and Rita period. This study provides valuable information for the state agency to estimate cost escalation in ongoing projects and to estimate future disaster response to highway construction costs.
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Acknowledgments
This research was funded by the Louisiana Transportation Research Center.
References
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 135 • Issue 7 • July 2009
Pages: 594 - 600
Copyright
© 2009 ASCE.
History
Received: Jun 17, 2008
Accepted: Oct 15, 2008
Published online: Mar 27, 2009
Published in print: Jul 2009
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