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Alpert, I (1973) Competitive bidding on publicly-advertised construction projects, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , New York University, Graduate School of Business Administration.

DarConte, F X (2017) Best value alignment process for public works construction in New York state, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , Polytechnic Institute of New York University.

Gelisen, G (2010) Automated productivity based schedule animation (APBSA), Unpublished PhD Thesis, , Polytechnic Institute of New York University.

Liu, M (2013) The application of BIM and IPD in public design and construction, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , Polytechnic Institute of New York University.

Mirzaei, M (2018) Cost-effectiveness of outsourcing public architectural/engineering projects in government agencies, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , New York University Tandon School of Engineering.

Moussa, M (2022) Truck tolling for bridges in USA: A new approach for determining a fair toll policy, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , New York University Tandon School of Engineering.

• Type: Thesis
• Keywords: competition; effectiveness; efficiency; benchmarking; government; outsourcing; policy; project delivery
• ISBN/ISSN:
• URL: https://www.proquest.com/docview/2679759984
• Abstract:
  About 60% of the nation’s freight shipments are done by the truck mode. As a result, an efficient freight transportation system is essential to maintain the nation’s economy. In order to have an efficient movement of freight, the roads and bridges need to be well maintained. Meanwhile the transportation system is facing a shortfall in funds needed to maintain and expand the system. The deficit of funds is due to the significant reduction of fuel tax revenue which is the main source of funds going into the Highway Trust Fund (HTF). The toll charges for trucks is one of the areas that need to be looked at when seeking to improve the efficiency of the transportation system as tolls are a source of funds to finance the maintenance and construction of the system infrastructure. The toll area is case sensitive and determining the toll charges are challenging and has to be calculated thoughtfully. Charging higher and unjustified tolls leads to higher freight costs, a complex and challenging market for the small carriers, increasing the costs of consumer goods, increase of inflation rate, and in some situation such as in NYC, it results in suboptimal utilization of regional port facilities as high toll charges are economically forcing freight away from port locations that have underutilized capital resources to ports that have overloaded capacity but less toll charges. Alternately, charging low tolls may lead to an insufficient fund that is needed to maintain the facilities and infrastructure of the transportation system. As a result, fair and justified pricing policies are needed to ensure that trucks are paying their fair share of the costs that they impose on the road according to the U. S. Freight Policy Statement which states that “Whenever feasible, fees and taxes adequate to cover the cost of building, operating, and maintaining the public infrastructure facilities should be recovered from the parties that use and benefit from them”. Improved freight transportation can play a key role in ensuring that freight movement costs are set at a fair level for carriers, shippers, retailers, and for the benefit of public citizens. Toll charges in the USA are determined based on the number of axles of the vehicle, as a stand-alone variable, despite the literature finding that traffic loads play a key role in the deterioration and consumption of roadway infrastructure. In contrast, the use of vehicle weight is often used around the world either as a stand-alone variable or combined with other variables to determine the truck toll charges. In this study, a base-toll rate for crossing toll bridges related to commercial vehicles from2-axle to 7-axle trucks as well as the autos and buses is found. The base-toll rates are determined based on the consumption of the facility by vehicles, and tied to the cost of the imposed infrastructure damages. The base-tolls are based on the axle configuration, weight and length of the vehicle. A Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) technique is used to determine the annual cost of the imposed damages by vehicles on the facility. The Base-toll purpose is to generate sufficient revenue to cover the costs of financing, constructing, maintaining and rehabilitating the facility. The base charges are calculated with the understanding that additional charges may be added to the base charge for additional revenue that the agency needs for other purposes than building and maintaining the bridge, such as airports, sea ports, transportation centers and transit projects. Having a base-toll rate that is fairer for the various vehicle classes shall make the toll structure more transparent to the users when adding other charges for additional revenue. Additionally, the “other” non-bridge related charges will be divided proportionally to the users based on the proportions found in the base charge. The first task in this study includes a survey for the toll facilities in the USA and around the world. The survey was done to distinguish similarities and differences between the USA toll policies with the ones implem nted around the world in order to discover the state of the art in the topic and for recommending what is needed to be done in this area to improve the system. The survey included 55 toll facilities in the USA and 28 toll facilities located in 12 countries around the world. The survey results found that the weight of the vehicle is commonly used around the world as a stand-alone variable or combined with other variables to determine the toll charges. However, in the USA the number of vehicle axles alone is used for setting the toll charges. Also, the results included the differences between the USA and the world in regards tolling direction, time-of-day tolling policy, and the toll collection methods. The second task of the study is about the types of toll facility costs during its life period including the capital, operating, toll collection, inspection & consulting support, maintenance, and rehabilitation costs. The LCCA methodology is implemented to determine the annual cost of the toll facility that is used to determine the base-toll. LCCA is used as a support tool to avoid the risk of having the facility costs being uncovered by toll revenue due to the inflation and escalation of costs from year to another. Furthermore, it allows for toll increases over the facility life to happen gradually and smoothly which will minimize the diversion from the toll facility to alternate routes. The third task is learning about the Weigh in Motion (WIM) technology used for the proposed toll structure and the benefits of implementing WIM at bridges. The fourth task describes the calculations for the base-toll model that is proposed in this study. The task includes a description of the model, the determination of the shares of load-related costs and non-load-related cost, the methods implemented in allocating each cost category to the vehicle classes, and the estimation of the base-toll charges. The fifth task is a case study for estimating the base-toll charges for a PANYNJ toll bridge. A second model is also created for the purpose of comparing an axle-number-based toll that is the common method of tolling currently in the U. S. The differences and findings between the proposed tolls and the tolls of the current policy are presented. The findings are interesting as they show a cross subsidization between the weight groups within the same vehicle class and across subsidization between the vehicle classes when the axle-number-based toll policy is implemented. The proposed model is for determining the minimum base-toll charges that cover the facility costs. Furthermore, the model is a data-based model which means it can be used for any bridge regardless the type of its skeleton structure. The conclusion of this study shows that the proposed method is fairer and more transparent than the current method.

Sehic, A (2014) Decision support tool for interface management, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , Polytechnic Institute of New York University.

Thomson, W (2015) China constructs: Architecture, labor, and value on a Chinese construction site, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , New York University.

Wang, Y (2017) Zero incident safety management for continued safety improvement, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , Polytechnic Institute of New York University.