Lifecycle Cost Study of Underground Freight Transportation Systems in Texas

Lifecycle cost analysis is a critical step in feasibility studies of future infrastructure projects. Lifecycle cost analysis of innovative infrastructure systems, such as a proposed underground freight transportation (UFT) is often challenging since there is not adequate historical cost information that is typically required for lifecycle cost analysis of these systems. The UFT system is a class of automated transportation systems in which vehicles carry freight through tunnels or pipelines under existing highways and roads between intermodal terminals. The objective of this paper is to assess the lifecycle cost of five UFT system alternatives in Texas. A stakeholder committee in conjunction with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) selected five alternatives: transporting shipping containers for 402.33 km (250 mi), 24.14 km (15 mi), and 6.43 km (4 mi); crate size cargoes for 24.14 km (15 mi); and pallet size cargoes for 24.14 km (15 mi). This analysis includes the capital and annual costs of a proposed UFT system in Texas over a lifecycle time of 100 years. The UFT system has major capital cost components including costs of tunnel construction, linear induction motors (LIMs), and vehicles. The annual cost components of the UFT system are the costs of maintenance, energy consumption, and administration. Historical tunneling costs are used to create a regression model to estimate costs of tunnels with various sizes. Quotes from the industry and RSMeans cost data are used to estimate the costs of vehicles, LIMs, UFT maintenance, energy consumption, and administration. The results of this paper inform transportation planners about lifecycle costs of the UFT system. Lifecycle costs of the UFT system include construction, maintenance, and operation costs. Unlike the capital costs of the system that increase as the cargo size increases, administrative costs decrease as the cargo size increases. This increase in the administrative costs for crate and pallet size UFTs is due to the need for more loading and offloading stations at terminals. This paper shows how the lifecycle cost of a proposed underground transportation system can be estimated using limited historical cost information.