371 Economic Impact Analysis (Simple)
A simplified benefit-cost screening dashboard comparing interchange alternatives using travel time savings, safety benefits, vehicle operating cost (VOC) reductions, and maintenance costs, with results summarized using Net Present Value (NPV) and Benefit-Cost Ratio (BCR).
Summary
This is a simplified screening tool intended for comparison across alternatives. It does not replace a full engineering, traffic, safety, or financial feasibility study.
Economic Framework
Alternatives are evaluated using a benefit-cost framework that summarizes annual net benefits and converts them into a discounted Net Present Value (NPV).
- Travel time savings
- Safety improvements
- Vehicle operating cost (VOC) savings
- Maintenance costs (deducted from annual benefits)
Decision Emphasis
The corridor’s economic profile is used to contextualize disruption sensitivity and the value of reliability and safety. Baseline business and employment figures are summarized in the Business Context section.
Comparative Assessment of Alternatives
Click column headers to sort. Click a row to select an alternative.
| Alternative | Travel Time (M/yr) | Safety (M/yr) | VOC (M/yr) | Maintenance (M/yr) | Construction Cost (M) |
|---|
Annual Net Benefit
Time + Safety + VOC − Maintenance
NPV + BCR Calculator
Adjust discount rate and analysis period. Results update for the selected alternative.
Interpretation
- BCR > 1 indicates benefits exceed costs under the selected assumptions.
- BCR < 1 indicates costs exceed benefits under the selected assumptions.
- Higher values indicate stronger economic efficiency in the screening framework.
Business & Employment Context
Baseline business and employment figures provide local context for corridor sensitivity to access disruption and the scale of travel-time reliability and safety benefits. See methodology & sources.
ESRI Business Summary (Baseline)
Source: ESRI Business Summary (Place geography).
Context in the Decision Narrative
- Disruption sensitivity: retail and service corridors are access-sensitive during construction.
- Reliability value: employee concentration increases the value of travel-time reliability.
- Safety value: safety benefits apply across both workforce and customer flows.
Methodology & Sources
This screening framework summarizes annual benefits and costs and applies discounting to estimate Net Present Value (NPV) and a simplified Benefit-Cost Ratio (BCR).
Inputs
- Annual travel time savings (M USD)
- Annual safety benefits (M USD)
- Annual vehicle operating cost (VOC) savings (M USD)
- Annual maintenance cost (M USD), treated as a negative benefit
- Construction cost (M USD), treated as an upfront investment
NPV
NPV is calculated by discounting annual net benefits over the analysis period using the selected discount rate. Annual net benefits are defined as (Travel Time + Safety + VOC − Maintenance).
BCR (Screening)
The screening BCR is computed as NPV of benefits divided by construction cost. This is a simplified comparison metric.
ESRI Business Summary
ESRI business and employment figures are used only to provide baseline economic context (scale and sector mix) and to explain corridor sensitivity to disruption. These figures are not used to claim causality or guarantee job creation.
Notes
- Results are dependent on input assumptions and the quality of underlying benefit estimates.
- All values are presented in simplified form for comparative screening.