DC Streets Performance-Based Asset Preservation Experiment: Current Quantitative Results and Suggestions for Future Contracts

Abstract

Performance-based asset preservation aims to rehabilitate and maintain roadway, roadside, bridge, and tunnel assets, while reducing overall rehabilitation and maintenance costs by encouraging innovative, cost-effective, flexible preservation strategies. The DC Streets contract, an experimental performance-based asset preservation project undertaken by the District of Columbia Department of Transportation (DDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) over the past five years, entails a private contractor maintaining over 75 miles of the National Highway System (NHS) in the District. With the DC Streets Contract, DDOT has attained significant system condition improvements on the NHS and currently plans to continue using performance-based asset preservation contracts after the conclusion of the DC Streets effort. This paper presents the quantitative results of the DC Streets project to date and offers suggestions for future performance-based maintenance contracts.