Chapter 16: Transportation Asset Management

Transportation asset management (TAM) is an umbrella term used to describe a range of efforts aimed at systematically and cost-effectively maintaining, upgrading, and operating surface transportation infrastructure assets. TAM goes beyond the traditional engineering-oriented approach to managing these assets by introducing or expanding the role of economic theory and business-oriented practices in the delivery of transportation services. As such, TAM introduces a new set of tools and practices that seek to build and improve upon existing practices, rather than to replace them. This chapter provides an overview of the state of the art of these practices and tools, and their development.