THE HIGHWAY ECONOMIC REQUIREMENTS SYSTEM: AN INTRODUCTION TO HERS

This article introduces the logic, design and capabilities of the Highway Economic Requirements System (HERS), a newly developed model which uses incremental life-cycle benefit/cost analysis to define the 'near-optimal' cost-effective set of appropriate improvement options given user defined policy scenarios. HERS is distinguished from traditional highway investment analysis by two important features: the analytical technique; and the software user interface. Each of these areas is discussed in detail. The relationship to the Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS) is also discussed. Comments are made on deficiency identification with HERS.