2 Introduction
2 Introduction
2.1 Background to Project Evaluation
Road infrastructure projects normally take a minimum of 5 to 7 years to plan prior to the commencement of construction and it is not possible to know exactly what will happen when a project is opened, nor what would have happened had the project not been built, particularly when the project is opened a number of years after its assessment.
The aims of evaluation, as set out in the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB), Volume 5, SH 1/97 ‘Traffic and Economic Assessment of Road Schemes in Scotland’, are as follows:
- to satisfy the demands of good management and public accountability by providing the answers to questions about the effects of a new or improved road;
- to identify the strengths and weaknesses in the techniques used for appraising projects, so that confidence in the roads programme is maintained;
- to allow the predictive ability of the traffic or transport models used to be monitored to establish whether any particular form of model is consistently more reliable than others when applied to particular types of projects; and
- to assist in the assessment of compensation under Part 1 of the Land Compensation (Scotland) Act 1973 for depreciation due to the physical factors caused by the use of public works.
The evaluation of trunk road projects is evolving as Transport Scotland improves its process and reporting to reflect the principles of monitoring and evaluation set out in the Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG).
STAG advocates evaluation against indicators and targets derived for the Transport Planning Objectives originally set for the project, STAG criteria (Environment, Safety, Economy, Integration and Accessibility & Social Inclusion) and relevant policy directives, the aim of which is to identify:
- whether the project is performing as originally intended;
- whether, and to what extent, it is contributing to established policy directives; and
- whether the implemented project continues to represent value for money.
Furthermore, Scottish Trunk Road Infrastructure Project Evaluation (STRIPE) by Transport Scotland sets out the requirements for evaluation which draws on DMRB and STAG. This document is to be finalised in 2013, but already acts as a guide to evaluation for relevant projects. STRIPE states that at least two programmed evaluations should be carried out on relevant schemes, as follows:
- A one-year after Evaluation (1YA) – prepared one year after opening, this report should “provide Transport Scotland with an early indication (as far as is practicable) that the project is operating as planned and is on-track to achieve its objectives. The 1YA evaluation also provides a Process Evaluation including an assessment of actual vs. forecast project cost, and programme together with reasons for variance”. STRIPE also states that a stand-alone report should be prepared on each individual project. Information gathering should be supported by a site visit and stakeholder interviews.
- A Detailed Evaluation – 3 and/or 5 years after opening. This second evaluation “considers a project’s impacts, whether it has achieved its objectives and reviews the actual impacts against forecasts and determines the causes of any variances”.
2.2 This Evaluation and Project Reported
As recommended in STRIPE, this report constitutes a One-Year After (1YA) Evaluation Report. It is a standalone report on the A75(T) Cairntop to Barlae Project. This project fits the criteria for evaluation at this stage, as it cost more than £5m and was completed and opened to traffic in the 2010/11 financial year.
| Route | Project Name | Standard | Length (km) | Open to Traffic | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A75(T) | Cairntop to Barlae | D2AP | 2.4km | Oct 2010 | |||
Key: D2AP Dual 2 lane all purpose