lifecycle costs analysis
(3) Improving infrastructure integrity.— (A) In general .— The Secretary shall carry out and facilitate highway and bridge infrastructure research and development activities— (i) to maintain infrastructure integrity; (ii) to meet user needs; and (iii) to link Federal transportation investments to improvements in system performance. (B) Objectives .— In carrying out this paragraph, the Secretary shall carry out research and development activities— (i) to reduce the number of fatalities attributable to infrastructure design characteristics and work zones; (ii) to improve the safety and security of highway infrastructure; (iii) to increase the reliability of lifecycle performance predictions used in infrastructure design, construction, and management; (iv) to improve the ability of transportation agencies to deliver projects that meet expectations for timeliness, quality, and cost; (v) to reduce user delay attributable to infrastructure system performance, maintenance, rehabilitation, and construction; (vi) to improve highway condition and performance through increased use of design, materials, construction, and maintenance innovations; (vii) to reduce the environmental impacts of highway infrastructure through innovations in design, construction, operation, preservation, and maintenance; and (viii) to study vulnerabilities of the transportation system to seismic activities and extreme events, including weather, and methods to reduce those vulnerabilities. (C) Contents .— Research and technology activities carried out under this paragraph may include— (i) long-term infrastructure performance programs addressing pavements, bridges, tunnels, and other structures; (ii) short-term and accelerated studies of infrastructure performance; (iii) research to develop more durable infrastructure materials and systems; (iv) advanced infrastructure design methods; (v) accelerated highway and bridge construction; (vi) performance-based specifications; (vii) construction and materials quality assurance; (viii) comprehensive and integrated infrastructure asset management; (ix) infrastructure safety assurance; (x) sustainable infrastructure design and construction; (xi) infrastructure rehabilitation and preservation techniques, including techniques to rehabilitate and preserve historic infrastructure; (xii) hydraulic, geotechnical, and aerodynamic aspects of infrastructure; (xiii) improved highway construction technologies and practices; (xiv) improved tools, technologies, and models for infrastructure management, including assessment and monitoring of infrastructure condition; (xv) studies to improve flexibility and resiliency of infrastructure systems to withstand extreme weather events and climate variability; (xvi) studies on the effectiveness of fiber-based additives to improve the durability of surface transportation materials in various geographic regions; (xvii) studies of infrastructure resilience and other adaptation measures; (xviii) maintenance of seismic research activities, including research carried out in conjunction with other Federal agencies to study the vulnerability of the transportation system to seismic activity and methods to reduce that vulnerability; (xix) technology transfer and adoption of permeable, pervious, or porous paving materials, practices, and systems that are designed to minimize environmental impacts, stormwater runoff, and flooding and to treat or remove pollutants by allowing stormwater to infiltrate through the pavement in a manner similar to predevelopment hydrologic conditions; and (xx) studies on the deployment and revenue potential of the deployment of energy and broadband infrastructure in highway rights-of-way, including potential adverse impacts of the use or nonuse of those rights-of-way. (D) Lifecycle costs analysis study.— (i) In general .— In this subparagraph, the term “lifecycle costs analysis” means a process for evaluating the total economic worth of a usable project segment by analyzing initial costs and discounted future costs, such as maintenance, user, reconstruction, rehabilitation, restoring, and resurfacing costs, over the life of the project segment. (ii) Study .— The Comptroller General shall conduct a study of the best practices for calculating lifecycle costs and benefits for federally funded highway projects, which shall include, at a minimum, a thorough literature review and a survey of current lifecycle cost practices of State departments of transportation. (iii) Consultation .— In carrying out the study, the Comptroller shall consult with, at a minimum— (I) the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials; (II) appropriate experts in the field of lifecycle cost analysis; and (III) appropriate industry experts and research centers. (E) Report .— Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Transportation Research and Innovative Technology Act of 2012, the Comptroller General shall submit to the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate and the Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure and Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives a report on the results of the study which shall include— (i) a summary of the latest research on lifecycle cost analysis; and (ii) recommendations on the appropriate— (I) period of analysis; (II) design period; (III) discount rates; and (IV) use of actual material life and maintenance cost data.