This synthesis report will be of interest to transportation agency planners; design, construction, and maintenance engineers; and administrators, managers, economists, and other decisionmakers involved in programming highway pavement projects. This synthesis describes current practice with regard to road user and mitigation costs in highway pavement projects. Information for the synthesis was collected by surveying U.S. and Canadian transportation agencies and by conducting a literature search of both domestic and foreign publications. This report of the Transportation Research Board provides detailed information on the various methods employed by transportation agencies to estimate user costs. The advantages and disadvantages of each are reported. Information on the various components of user costs (that is, time related, vehicle operating, safety, and environmental costs) is also included. In addition, the study reports on the various mitigation strategies available to agencies to reduce user costs. Information is also provided on how user costs and mitigation strategies have been applied to evaluate different alternatives; and how uncertainties, political considerations, and quality control contribute to the decisionmaking process.

This report from the second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2), which is administered by the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, focuses on geometric design treatments that can be used to reduce delays due to nonrecurrent congestion.

This book on road traffic congestion in cities and suburbs describes congestion problems and shows how they can be relieved. The first part (Chapters 1 - 3) shows how congestion reflects transportation technologies and settlement patterns. The second part (Chapters 4 - 13) describes the causes, characteristics, and consequences of congestion. The third part (Chapters 14 - 23) presents various relief strategies - including supply adaptation and demand mitigation - for nonrecurring and recurring congestion. The last part (Chapter 24) gives general guidelines for congestion relief and provides a general outlook for the future. The book will be useful for a wide audience - including students, practitioners and researchers in a variety of professional endeavors: traffic engineers, transportation planners, public transport specialists, city planners, public administrators, and private enterprises that depend on transportation for their activities.