FHWA

Transportation Asset Management Case Studies
The Ohio Experience

Where is Ohio Today?

ODOT has made significant advances in asset management since the unveiling of VISION 2000 twelve years ago: overall, system condition deficiencies have been reduced by 66 percent for roads and 80 percent for bridges since 1995.

While a great deal of that progress is attributable to the efforts outlined above, the development of the department's performance model has played a fundamental role in managing system conditions. It took the department several years to create the OPI, but the performance measures capture ODOT's belief that asset management is based upon accountability for all areas of operation. The districts and the core areas of the department report on their progress in meeting their OPI goals, all of which are outlined in the department's biennial business plan.

For example, ODOT staff rate the state roadways annually using a 100-point PCR. Priority system pavements are considered deficient when the PCR falls below 65 points; Urban and General system pavements, when the PCR dips below 55 points. (Note: The PCR threshold for the General system will be 60 points beginning in 2009.) Using this information, the department established a FY 2008 district and statewide goal for acceptable pavement conditions on the Priority, General, and Urban systems at 90 percent, with interim goals from 2004 to 2008 helping to advance toward this steady state condition.

ODOT has established similar benchmarks for bridge conditions, providing progress markers that will help achieve a steady state of minimal system deficiencies. According to the "ODOT Business Plan 2006 & 2007," the FY 2008 goal "is to keep general appraisal ratings at or above 96 percent acceptable, floor conditions at or above 95 percent, wearing surface at or above 96 percent and paint conditions at or above 89 percent acceptable." (Source: "System Conditions: Statewide Bridges - ODOT Statewide Bridge Summary," ODOT Business Plan 2006 & 2007, http://www.dot.state.oh.us/BusinessPlan0607/SystemConditions.pdf, pdf, 1.7 mb.) And the plan doesn't stop there; it details similar performance expectations for every aspect of core operations, including legal counsel, construction, contracts, equipment, facilities, finance, information technology, plan delivery, quality and human resources, roadway safety and mobility, and traffic engineering. With the performance of every employee measured against these goals annually, asset management really is everyone's business. It's a team sport, Evans says, and one that was made reality by VISION 2000. "The department went through a major explosion in the 1990s, and VISION 2000 was monumental in making this happen. We've come a long way in 12 years, and we're looking forward from a statewide perspective."