Estmation models for production rates of highway construction activities

Scope and Method of Study. The study has identified controlling highway activities studied current approaches practiced by State DOTs and prior studies conducted on productivity and selected ongoing and recently completed highway projects, through extensive literature reviews and a series of meetings with ODOT engineers and contractors. It has identified major factors collected productivity data and assessed the relationship of factors with controlling highway activities by collecting historically recorded data conducting two set of questionnaire surveys and applying statistical methods. In addition, it has developed production prediction models (regression models) for controlling activities with significant number of data and prediction models based on subjective data from surveys for activities with insufficient data points and a standalone software program.Findings and Conclusions. It was concluded that the major factors affecting production rates are weather conditions (temperature and seasonal changes) geographic location of highway projects traffic condition quantity of work size of contractor and soil type. In addition, type of route, number of lanes and type of roadway are major factors affecting production rates of controlling highway activities. Higher production rates were observed when highway projects are constructed during summer at temperature between 65F and 85F under sandy/sandy loam soil condition project located in rural area concrete pavement Interstate highway of 8-lane roadway. A survey of productivity data among contractors resulted in a much lower contractors' production rate when compared to residencies as for the reason that contractors would likely keep their data confidential for the purpose of bidding. Clients should bid projects by early January so that construction projects can start by mid of March or early of April in order to have longer duration of work hours and efficient productivity of highway activities during the summer and fall season. In addition, the selection of efficient and specialized construction firms also increase the productivity of highway construction activities. Further, it was concluded that full lane closure of rehabilitation projects or construction of new highway project have higher production rates of highway construction activities than half lane closure.