Road investment criteria

IN ATTEMPTING TO ASSESS THE ECONOMIC WORTH OF ROAD SCHEMES, ROAD ENGINEERS IN THE U.K. USE SOME OF THE METHODS PIONEERED IN THE ECONOMIC STUDY OF THE FIRST U.K. MOTORWAY. THIS ARTICLE EXAMINES ONE ROAD SCHEME IN DETAIL. ITS AIM IS TO CALCULATE THE ECONOMIC VIABILITY OF A NEW ROAD WITH THE AID TO SOME OF THE DATA USED BY THE ROAD ENGINEERS AND SOME FURTHER DATA ASSEMBLED SEPARATELY. AT THE SAME TIME, AN EVALUATION IS MADE OF THE CRITERIA USED BY THE ROAD ENGINEERS AND ALSO OF THE IMPLICATIONS OF BOTH TYPES OF CALCULATIONS FOR THE CHOICE BETWEEN DIFFERENT ROAD INVESTMENTS. THE GENERAL BASIS OF THE CALCULATION IS TO ASSESS THE NET DISCOUNTED PRESENT VALUE OF THE PROJECT. THE BENEFITS OF THE SCHEME ARE TAKEN TO BE THE SAVINGS IN JOURNEY COSTS CAUSED BY THE NEW ROAD AND ALSO THE SAVINGS, IF ANY, IN EXPECTED ACCIDENT COSTS. THESE ITEMS ARE WEIGHED AGAINST THE CAPITAL AND MAINTENANCE COSTS OF THE NEW ROAD. CLEARLY, IN ASSESSING PUBLIC INVESTMENT IN THE TRACK OF A TRANSPORT SYSTEM, IT IS NECESSARY TO EVALUATE THE ECONOMICS OF COMPETING RAILWAY LINES AS WELL AS OF NEW ROAD VENTURES. THIS ARTICLE, HOWEVER, IGNORES RAILWAYS AND CONCENTRATES ON THE ROAD ISSUES. /AUTHOR/