Economic Appraisal Tool

The Economic Appraisal Tool performs an economic appraisal of a specific countermeasure or several alternative countermeasures for a specific site. Default construction cost estimates for candidate improvements are provided within this tool, but the user has the capability to modify the default estimates based on local experience. The user has the option to select the type of economic appraisal to be performed: cost effectiveness (countermeasure cost per accident reduced), benefit-cost ratio (ratio of monetary benefits to countermeasure costs), or net present value (excess of monetary benefits over countermeasure costs). Safety effectiveness measures (i.e., benefits) are estimated from data on the observed, expected, and predicted accident frequency and severity at the site; the accident patterns identified in the preceding tools; and accident modification factors (AMFs) for specific countermeasures. The AMFs representing the safety effectiveness of particular countermeasures are based on the best available safety research. The analyses include appropriate consideration of the service life of the countermeasure and the time value of money. This tool can perform economic analyses consistent with the requirements of the Federal Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) so that analysis results will be readily acceptable to FHWA for implementation with Federal funds.