Skip to main content

Extending the life of road assets

In an opinion piece published by the IRF, Matthew Jordan-Tank, head of infrastructure policy and IPPF, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has explained that extending the functional life of road assets can be achieved using performance-based contracts. In most developing and merging market economies, roads require rehabilitation, or even reconstruction, many years prior to the expected date. Simply put: usable life is not equal to design life, and it is not uncommon to find that a ro
April 7, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
RSSIn an opinion piece published by the 3918 IRF Washington, Matthew Jordan-Tank, head of infrastructure policy and IPPF, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has explained that extending the functional life of road assets can be achieved using performance-based contracts.

In most developing and merging market economies, roads require rehabilitation, or even reconstruction, many years prior to the expected date. Simply put: usable life is not equal to design life, and it is not uncommon to find that a road must be rehabilitated only halfway into its estimated original asset duration. While harsh climate conditions with large seasonal temperature changes may play a role, much of this 'premature' investment boils down to lack of systematic maintenance that is normally applied in countries with regular 'asset management' funding regimes.

Applying performance-based maintenance contracting to the road sector can produce significant fiscal improvements, as well as user benefits in the form of better maintained and therefore safer roads.

EBRD recently published a paper providing a condensed yet substantive overview of the key international lessons learned in the area of performance-based contracts.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • China's Roads Convention focuses on sustainability
    February 9, 2012
    IRF joins with key Chinese transport authorities to lead the way in efforts to make sustainable rural mobility, transport and access a reality for millions throughout the world.
  • Road safety: time for results on reducing crashes
    May 8, 2019
    The World Health Organization’s 2018 Global Road Safety Status Report – the definitive international road safety performance benchmark – paints an alarming picture, just two years from the United Nations’ target to cut fatal traffic injuries by 2020, and confirms that road fatalities represent one of the worst public health epidemics in history. “Think about it. In the Plague of Justinian in 541 and 542 AD, approximately 100,000,000 people died, making this event recognised as the worst epidemic in hist
  • European project to develop CO2 assessment methodology for ITS
    April 26, 2012
    In a new project that began last month, Europe is taking a significant step to scientifically underpin the estimation of CO2 emissions. The project, Amitran, will develop a methodology to assess the impact of ICT (information and communication technologies) and ITS on CO2 emissions from the transport sector.
  • A breakthrough in the horizontal reuse of PA (porous asphalt)
    May 12, 2016
    An ambitious objective has led to significant steps in the reuse of PA (porous asphalt). While the market incidentally produces PA with a maximum of 30% of recovered raw materials, BAM has introduced its own innovations, enabling more than 90% of raw materials to be reused. And this year, subsidies from the European Commission will enable the LE2AP demonstration project to be constructed: one kilometre of sustainable PA. Large-scale production is also being developed.