Analysis of the impact of investment on the conditions and performance of the Nation’s highways and bridges provides the basis for evaluating future highway investment needs. Conditions and performance forecasting provides the basis for identifying and prioritizing performance-based investment levels.

Spotlight Project: Conditions and Performance (C&P) Report

The C&P Reports, dating back to 1968, provide decisionmakers with an objective appraisal of the physical conditions, operational performance, and financing mechanisms of highways, bridges, and transit systems based on both their current state and their projected future state under a set of alternative future investment scenarios. These reports offer a comprehensive, data-driven background context to support the development and evaluation of legislative, program, and budget options at all levels of Government.

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FHWA studies the broad economic impact of investment in infrastructure through the Transportation and the Economy program element. FHWA models economic impact and job creation based on transportation, industry, and other data.

Spotlight Project: JOBMOD

To assess the employment impacts of different types of road and bridge investments, FHWA, in partnership with Battelle Memorial Institute, and Boston University Center for Transportation Studies, created JOBMOD—now updated to JOBMOD2—which is an economic model that evaluates the impact of different highway infrastructure project types based on the expenditure of Federal funds.

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The Benefit-Cost Analysis program conducts analysis in support of FHWA proposed changes to regulations and in support of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Office of the Secretary (OST) initiatives.

Spotlight Project: Use of Benefit-Cost Analysis by State Departments of Transportation: Report to Congress

The study responds to a congressional report requesting that USDOT “evaluate the use of benefit-cost analysis by State departments of transportation (State DOTs)” and address the following topic areas: extent to which State DOTs use benefit-cost analysis when making decisions and setting priorities; quality of such analysis; challenges that State DOTs face when trying to use benefit-cost analysis; and strategies for addressing those challenges.

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The Emerging Trends and Future Demands program element assesses the potential for emerging transportation technologies, modal options, and sociodemographic factors to reshape future travel demand and performance. An area of focus for this demand side research addresses the potential value, costs, and system performance implications of automated vehicles (AVs) and on-demand modes for future travel behavior and associated future system needs and performance. 

Spotlight Project: The Next Generation of Travel: Research, Analysis, and Scenario Development

The report summarizes findings from FHWA research on trends related to the travel behavior of youth. Its objective is to provide answers to questions about youth travel trends and identify factors that significantly affect travel decisions and shape the ways youth travel.

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The Highway Costs and Funding Options program element reviews the costs of constructing and maintaining highway infrastructure, and assesses means of funding highway infrastructure. Products of this program, such as the National Highway Construction Cost Index (NHCCI) and the Unified Pavement Distress Analysis and Prediction Systems help FHWA and its partners understand the costs and needs of highway infrastructure.

Spotlight Project: NHCCI

The NHCCI is a quarterly price index intended to measure national average changes in highway construction costs over time. FHWA uses data on State web postings of winning bids on highway construction contracts. The data represent State- and project-level details on prices and quantities of pay items for those winning contracts.

The Transportation Options Analysis program element is studying barriers to rural mobility, economic growth, and safety in rural transportation.

Spotlight Project: Define Geotypologies for Analyzing Transportation Policy Impacts: Closing the Gap Between Current and Potential Accessibility

The project aims to create a set of geotypologies—or geotypes—that defines regions in terms of their primary travel demand drivers rather than current travel patterns. Defining geotypes solely as a function of geoeconomic and geospatial factors will allow for a broader understanding of the likely impact of transportation policies and infrastructure investments on travel patterns in different geotypes. One of the primary benefits of constructing a set of geotypes is to enable the possibility of modeling transportation outcomes for multiple regions that share common characteristics, using publicly available data.

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To identify and develop research efforts, the Policy Development program hosts symposia and performs strategic programming to improve our understanding of established and emerging issues.

Spotlight Project: Access to Smart City Transportation, FHWA National Transportation Policy Symposium

As part of the Policy Symposium Series, FHWA brought together national and global experts to discuss the challenges and opportunities with smart transportation systems. Discussants represented leadership from local, State and Federal Governments, academia, policy organizations, private companies, and the European Commission.