Preliminary cost estimates for contracted construction, rehabilitation, and maintenance projects are an important part of a transportation agency's planning and budgeting process. Such cost estimates can be developed through a careful examination of historical bid data. A microcomputer data base of historical unit‐price bid data is used to develop a cost‐estimating procedure that incorporates the factors that most directly impact project cost. For a wide range of project categories, these factors appear to be the length of the project and the anticipated application rate of certain key materials.

Planning and scheduling freeway maintenance and construction activities requires the consideration of tradeoffs between the efficiency of performing the work and the inconvenience to motorists traveling through the work zone. An easy‐to‐use microcomputer software package called QUEWZ‐85 has been developed to assist agencies in analyzing the impact on motorists. QUEWZ‐85 estimates the queue lengths and additional road‐user costs that would result from alternative work zone configurations and schedules. The methodology of the analytical model is summarized and the mechanics of using the software package are described. Several successful applications of the model are discussed. Recommendations for additional research to enhance the accuracy of the model are presented.

A software system is developed to analyze the rate existing bridges. The system is capable of rating simple truss and continuous girder bridges up to three spans. Composite and noncomposite steel girders and concrete T‐beam bridges are supported. Girder bridge cross‐sectional properties may vary along each span. Five standard American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) trucks and one user‐defined truck are supported. The analysis methods selected are chosen to minimize computer resources. A wide variety of output related to bridge behavior is available. Two examples, a two‐span girder bridge and a four‐panel Pratt Truss bridge, are presented. Identical results are obtained from microcomputers with 8088 or 80286 processors. However, the microcomputers with the 80286 processors conducted the analysis and rating approximately 2.5 times faster. For the 80286‐based microcomputers, the run time for the two‐span bridge varied between 1 minute 12 seconds and 2 minutes 52 seconds. With the proper software, microcomputers will assist those individuals responsible for inspecting and rating the approximately 570,000 bridges in the country.

The goal of this study is to make a comparative assessment of selected programs developed for traffic signal planning, design, and operation of isolated signalized intersections. A comprehensive inventory is conducted and a detailed list of the currently available computer software is developed. A short description of individual software is provided listing the developer, application, and computer environment as well as other pertinent characteristics. A comparative assessment is done to evaluate the software packages. The paper recommends six programs for use in the signal planning design and operation of signalized isolated intersections.

A model to assess the impacts of major high‐occupancy vehicle (HOV) facilities on regional levels of, energy consumption and vehicle air pollution emissions in urban areas is developed and applied. This model can be used to forecast and compare the impacts of alternative HOV facility design and operation plans on traffic patterns, travel costs, mode choice, travel demand, energy consumption, and vehicle emissions. The model is designed to show differences in the overall impacts of alternative HOV facility types, locations, and operation plans, rather than to serve as a tool for detailed engineering design and traffic planning studies. The Network Performance Evaluation Model (NETPEM) combines several urban transportation planning models into a multimodal network equilibrium framework, including a module with which to define the type, location, and operation of the HOV facility to be tested, and an evaluation module with which to assess the impacts of this facility. As an example application, potential impacts of three different HOV lane/ramp facilities, when added to a major expressway in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, are forecasted. The results of these example runs and potential improvements to the model are discussed.

A menu‐oriented microcomputer database package has been developed to record and analyze traffic accident data in a small‐ to medium‐sized jurisdiction. Designed primarily for the traffic engineer, the package was developed during a microcomputer software development project funded by the FHWA Rural Technical Assistance Program. The program runs under MS‐DOS on IBM PC compatible machines, and requires dBase III or III Plus. KSLAD accepts up to 59 data items from each accident report, nine of which can be defined by the user to meet any particular need. The database can be used with any accident report form, because the allowable values of coded data fields may be altered by the user. Output consists of summary reports based on location or accident characteristic criteria specified by the user, or for the entire data set; a high accident location analysis procedure is also included. The program provides a starting point for the evaluation and correction of high accident locations.

This paper describes a computer methodology for analyzing pavement condition data to define inputs for pavement management systems. This system of programs was developed during a Federal Highway Administration research project. In the project, eight state highway departments were studied to determine the types of pavement condition data collected, procedures used for collecting data, the inputs to the states' pavement management systems, and computer programs used by the states to analyze raw pavement condition data. Several of the programs were assembled into the Method for Analyzing Pavement Condition, MAPCON, during a project performed at Pennsylvania State University. These and other existing or new programs (a total of 18) were identified, tested, modified, and incorporated onto a MS/DOS microcomputer system. MAPCON guides the user through selection of analysis method, raw data entry, and data analysis. The path taken by MAPCON is determined by user interaction. The types of data analyzed by MAPCON include safety, serviceability, structural capacity, surface condition, or a combination of the latter three.

Microscopic simulation using an efficient microcomputer‐based program is employed in evaluating alternative control strategies for intersections during construction. The program runs on an IBM PC or compatible, is interactive and menu‐driven, and has extensive graphic capabilities for easy data entry and inspection of results. Either four‐way or T‐intersections can be simulated with either all‐way stop sign control or traffic signal control (both actuated and pretimed). Input to the program, entered interactively, includes the geometric configuration, the number of lanes on each approach, lane‐bylane saturation flow rates, vehicle clearance times, and demands. Phasing arrangement and signal timing are entered when signal control is simulated. Delays, stops, and queue sizes are printed after the simulation is completed. If desired, the user can watch vehicle arrivals and departures, queue formation and dissipation, and traffic signal indication changes as the simulation proceeds.

An interactive design procedure for the incremental optimization of transit route service is developed based on the concept of elasticity and the total differential. The purpose of this method is to find the set of optimum fare and frequency changes that management can incrementally implement through time to achieve a certain objective under given constraints. The method is applied to a Twin Cities commuter route, illustrating the selection of the optimum set of policy changes. The transit performance map, a major product of the incremental optimization method, can provide important information about the system behavior. Using this map, the transit manager can determine the forecast optimum route performance through time as well as the optimum scheduling and pricing policies needed to reach the desired performance level. Each optimization session lasts 2–3 min on an IBM‐PC.

A PC‐based traffic planning model for use by small cities is described. The software includes routines for estimating OD matrices from observed link data and for determining equilibrium traffic flows. The mathematical modeling and algorithmic implementation of the problem and its solution technique are emphasized. An example application of the model is included.

Riders of local public‐transit systems in many parts of the country do not currently enjoy a schedule display that shows when buses will depart, while almost all air travelers can see when planes leave on such a system. This is for two reasons: Such systems cost too much, and a central computer system that contains all of the schedules is required. A stand‐alone system that operates on a microcomputer linked to a large display monitor is described. No central computer or remote data communications hardware is required, and the cost is very modest. Such a system is useful both for small transit operations, and for large transfer points involving more than one transit operator.