Abstract

Over the past century, landmark advancements in vehicle technology have motivated road agencies to carry out changes in their road infrastructure design and management processes to accommodate these advancements. The advent of Autonomous Vehicles (AVs), however, poses infrastructure challenges that could be more profound compared to those faced in the past. This study first discusses AV issues and concepts that could influence the scope and types of roadway infrastructure design and management in the AV era. These issues include AV technology readiness, the levels of vehicle autonomy, the stages of AV operations, and stakeholder roles. The study discusses AV demand forecasts and related factors and identifies the stakeholder perspectives regarding infrastructure readiness. The study indicates that the transition period (characterized by a mixed traffic environment of AVs and HDVs) will last for several decades, and that any infrastructure design changes should be based only on the party (AVs vs. HDVs) whose physical or operational features require designs that are more conservative compared to the other party. Further, in cognizance of the phased nature of road infrastructure development, the report discusses how AVs are expected to influence the way infrastructure owners and operators (IOOs) will plan, design, and operate their infrastructure in the AV era: changes in highway planning processes, introduce new classes of assets and cause obsolescence of certain existing asset types, changes in dimensions of certain elements of highway design, lead to reduced inspection expenditures but higher maintenance and operating expenditures. The study also presents AV-related legislation, policy, and regulations that are relevant to road infrastructure planning and revenues needed for infrastructure upkeep. Infrastructure is generally managed at project or network levels. In a context of project-level management, the study presented a flexibility-based framework for evaluating AV-related infrastructure investments, considering the uncertainty associated with AV market penetration as the main source of volatility. The framework considers that the IOO may choose to expand, defer, or scale back the investments at a future time as needed. Then, in a context of network-level management, the study presents and demonstrates how AV infrastructure investments could be influenced by holistic network effects regarding traffic flows on a capacitated network. The methodology can be used by IOOs to optimally select AV-related infrastructure implementation years, locations, their respective capacities, and user fee levels within a given horizon period.

Date

9-2023

DOI

10.5703/1288284317743

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