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8.15.04 Time is money on state projects Unlike the City of Omaha, the Nebraska Department of Roads puts a dollar value on the extra time it takes drivers to get through construction zones. The state calls it a user cost. The state calculates a user cost based on three factors: traffic counts, estimated additional travel time and a federally accepted figure of 16 cents for each extra minute of travel time. The user cost is the basis for provisions in some state contracts that reward contractors for finishing early and impose penalties for finishing late. The City of Omaha doesn't use such provisions. The elevated expressway under construction on West Dodge Road, a $63 million project, has a hefty user cost. That means it has big incentives and penalties. For example, the deadline for completing the east-west expressway bridges is Aug. 21, 2007. That's the same deadline for completing the intersection of 120th Street and West Dodge Road. The contractor must pay $40,000 for each day after the deadline that the bridges and intersection are not open. There is no cap on the penalties. The contractor will receive $40,000 for each day on or before the deadline that the bridges and intersection are open. The incentives have a cap of $560,000. Based on a detour drivers would have to take if 120th Street was not open, the state estimated that the extra travel time would be 15 minutes. The vehicle count is based on 120th Street's average traffic count of 33,000 vehicles per day. Half that count, 16,500, is used for the calculation. The calculation: 16,500 x 15 minutes x 16 cents = $39,600 (which the state rounded to $40,000). |
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