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Because many highways in Texas are being widened to expedite traffic, motorists are asking questions about the cost impacts of such highway improvements. This study is designed to determine the user costs and benefits, both during and after construction, of widening a highway located in an urban area. A 10.79-km (6.7-mi) section of U.S. Highway 80 in Longview, Texas, a city with a population of 70,311 in 1990, was selected for study. The highway section was upgraded recently with a two-way continuous left-turn lane and curbs and gutters within the existing right of way. In addition, a new interconnecting signal system was installed. The total cost of the project was $9.5 million. The Heem-III benefit-cost model was used to determine the benefits to motorists. Benefits were calculated as the sum of delay savings, accident reductions, and vehicle operating cost savings, discounted over a 20-year period. Instrumented vehicle runs indicated that motorist delay was reduced as a result of optimal signal timing implemented during the widening construction and reduced stops as lanes were no longer blocked by left-turning vehicles. The accident rate fell steadily from the time that construction began. Projected maintenance costs were subtracted from projected benefits, and the resulting difference is divided by the cost of construction to obtain the benefit-cost ratio. The total benefit-cost ratio for the whole project is $7.82, which means that motorists are receiving benefits worth $7.82 for every dollar spent on the project.
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