Construction Readiness for Highway Projects: Key Decision Criteria

Abstract

The impacts of highway construction delays are not limited to the construction industry, but also affect the nation’s overall economic and social conditions. One factor that can cause delays is the project team rushing into construction without assessing the project’s readiness. In other words, adequately assessing the readiness of a project before construction may prevent delays. Therefore, this study aims to identify key decision criteria (KDC) to assess the construction readiness of highway projects. To achieve this objective, 109 surveys completed by industry practitioners were analyzed using the mean ranking technique, normalization method, agreement analysis, and factor analysis. A total of 18 KDC for assessing the construction readiness of highway projects were identified. In addition, the underlying categories for the KDC were reduced uncertainties, availability of resources, approvals and permits, and adequate traffic management plans. This study contributes to the current body of knowledge by identifying a list of KDC for the construction readiness of highway projects. This study’s practical contribution is the list of KDC that industry practitioners can use to assess the readiness of highway projects 1prior to construction.