Work zone planning in pavement rehabilitation: Integrating cost, duration, and user effects

This paper describes a methodology developed to support decision makers in planning work zones for pavement maintenance and rehabilitation interventions, integrating cost, duration, and user effects. The methodology relies on two key stages. First, a computer model generates the set of feasible options for work zone layouts and schedules, and combines them to include all options for the intervention's planning and undertaking. Subsequently, a multiple-criteria decision model is used to compare all the alternatives included in the previously obtained set using agency cost, duration, and traffic delay as criteria, according to the weightings that correspond to the decision-maker's preferences. It constitutes an advance in the current knowledge by avoiding the prior characterization of each alternative and, based on the novel integration of the mentioned criteria, pointing towards the set of alternatives that merit additional analysis. Two case studies with different traffic levels are discussed, showing the capabilities of this methodology while identifying the most adequate alternatives for each context.