Improving Benefit-Cost Analysis (BCA) for Rural Application

Benefit-cost analysis (BCA) is a requirement for U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) discretionary grant programs and plays a significant role in project evaluation and funding decisions. Rural and small urban communities often face challenges in preparing competitive BCAs due to limited technical capacity, data availability, and methodologies that may not fully capture the benefits of rural transportation investments. Rural transportation projects can provide benefits related to economic connectivity, freight movement, access to essential services, and system resiliency, which may not be fully reflected in conventional BCA approaches. In addition, smaller communities and regional organizations may lack the staff expertise, tools, or resources needed to complete BCA requirements for funding applications. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this research is to develop a guide to help state departments of transportation (DOTs) improve BCA methods and practices for rural and small metropolitan transportation projects. The research will identify methodological and data gaps in current BCA approaches, evaluate barriers faced by smaller communities in completing BCAs, and develop tools to support effective and competitive project evaluation processes.

• Record URL:
  • http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=6028
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This project has been tentatively selected and a project statement (request for proposals) is expected to be available on the website. The problem statement will be the starting point for a panel of experts to develop the project statement.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Proposed
• Funding: $500,000.00
• Contract Numbers:

  02-28

• Sponsor Organizations:

  State Departments of Transportation (participating member states of American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO))

  American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO)
  444 North Capitol Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Managing Organizations:

  National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP)

  Transportation Research Board
  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Project Managers:

  Nasri, Arefeh

• Start Date: 20261001
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Benefit cost analysis; Project management; Rural transportation; State departments of transportation; Urban transportation
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Finance; Transportation (General);

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01991794
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Transportation Research Board
• Contract Numbers: 02-28
• Files: TRB, RIP
• Created Date: Jun 3 2026 11:51AM