Evaluating the Effects of I-35W Bridge Collapse on Road-Users in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Region

Feng Xie and David Levinson

No 43, Working Papers from University of Minnesota: Nexus Research Group

Abstract: This study evaluates the effects of I-35W bridge collapse on road-users in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan area. We adopted the seven-County travel demand model developed in previous research, re-calibrated it against July 2007 loop detector traffic data, and used this model to carry out an evaluation of economic loss incurred by increased travel delay in alternative scenarios before and after the bridge collapse. We concluded that the failure of the I-35W bridge resulted in an economic loss of $71,000 to $220,000 a day, depending on how flexible road-users in the system can adjust their trip destinations in response to the bridge closing. We also estimated that the major traffic restoration projects Mn/DOT has implemented in quick response to the bridge collapse can save road-users $9,500 to $17,500 a day. This translates into a benefit-cost ratio of 2.0-9.0, suggesting these projects are highly beneficiary in an economic sense. In this analysis,the use of a simplified, scaled-down travel demand model enabled us to carry out the analysis quickly and accurately, showing its contributions in transportation planning under situations such as emergency relief and comprehensive design.

Keywords: I-35W Bridge; Minnesota; Minneapolis; Economic Evaluation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D63 R41 R48 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2008
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-geo and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Published in Transportation Planning and Technology 34(7) pp. 691-703

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/11299/180007 Second version, 2011 (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Evaluating the effects of the I-35W bridge collapse on road-users in the twin cities metropolitan region (2011)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nex:wpaper:i-35w-trb2009-bridgeregion

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