Public Roads: A Journal of Highway Research, Vol. 26, No. 7

Barber, E. S.; Benham, Sanford W.; Bielak, S. F; Burrage, R. H.; Carpenter, C. A.; Cashell, Harry D.; Chaiken, Bernard; Cope, E.M.; Dimmick, Thomas B.; Goode, J.F.; Gronberg, Gordon D.; Halstead, W.J.; Hansen, Harold W.; Hitchcock, S.T.; Jackson, F.H.; Leisch, J.E.; Liston, L.L.; Meadows, R.W.; Moore, R. Woodward; Pauls, J.T.; Peck, R.A.; Revelise, Thomas P.; Rex, H.M.; Sawyer, C.L.; Smith, Preston C.; Timms, A.G.; Trueblood, Darel L.; Woolf, D.O. · 1951 · ROSA P / United States. Government Printing Office

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Summary

This paper, published in 1951 by the Bureau of Public Roads, addresses the need for a standardized procedure to determine the annual cost of rural highway sections. The motivation stems from the establishment of "highway control sections" by state departments, which aim to coordinate construction and maintenance records. Accurate annual cost data—comprising depreciation and maintenance expenses—is essential for short- and long-range planning, economic justification, and analyzing the costs of different surface types and structures. The methodology proposed relies on the "unit summation method" to calculate depreciation using the straight-line principle. Highways are subdivided into fixed-asset accounts (e.g., right-of-way, roadway grading, surfaces, bridges). For each asset, the authors construct survivor curves based on historical data regarding construction dates, costs, and subsequent reconstructions or depletions. Each depletion is treated as a separate unit with its own service life. The annual depreciation rate for a fixed asset is derived by summing the depreciation rates of all active units within that asset group. This approach prevents the under-accrual of depreciation on short-lived units and over-accrual on long-lived units. Maintenance and operation expenses are correlated with these depreciation charges, with both adjusted to a common price level using construction and maintenance price indexes. The paper illustrates this procedure using data from Texas Highway Control Section 39-6, a rural segment of U.S. Route 83 in Cameron County. The analysis covers the period from 1936 to 1948, as maintenance records were unavailable prior to 1936. Results are presented as annual costs per mile and cost per vehicle-mile, adjusted to 1937–41 prices. To smooth erratic annual trends, the authors also present five-year averages. The study further examines four additional Texas control sections with varying surface types (bituminous and Portland cement concrete) and locations, providing comparative data on annual costs, traffic volumes, and cost per vehicle-mile. The significance of this work lies in providing a rigorous, repeatable framework for computing annual road costs that accounts for the complex lifecycle of highway assets. By separating capital depreciation from current maintenance expenditures and adjusting for inflation, the method allows for accurate economic comparisons across different highway types and time periods. The authors conclude that such data, when correlated with traffic volumes and other factors, offers invaluable insights for highway administration, enabling more efficient resource allocation and informed decision-making in highway development and maintenance.

Key finding

Annual road cost is determined by summing straight-line depreciation charges derived from reconstruction history and current maintenance and operation expenses, adjusted to a common price level.

Methodology

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Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.

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