Optimum Planning of Highway Construction under A + B Bidding Method

In recent years, many departments of transportation in the United States have started to apply the A + B bidding method in highway projects in order to reduce construction time and minimize its associated traffic congestion and adverse impact on local economies. The application of this method places an increased pressure on contractors to minimize both the time and cost of highway construction. This paper presents a practical model for optimizing resource utilization in highway projects that utilize the A + B bidding method. The model is designed to minimize the total combined bid by identifying the optimum crew formation and the optimum level of crew work continuity for each activity in the project. The model is developed using a dynamic programming formulation and is incorporated in a Windows application that provides a user-friendly interface to facilitate the optimization analysis. An application example of a highway project is analyzed to illustrate the use of the model and to demonstrate its capabilities.