HB730 Alabama 2012 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Mac McCutcheon

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2012

Title

Transportation Department, life-cycle cost analysis, major infrastructure project before appropriation by Legislature

Summary

Requires Alabama DOT to perform a 50-year life-cycle cost analysis and use the Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide, DARWin-ME, and Alternate Design/Alternate Bid for major infrastructure projects before funding.

What This Bill Does

If passed, the Department of Transportation must perform a life-cycle cost analysis for each major infrastructure project before the Legislature funds it. The analysis covers 50 years and uses actual costs for construction, maintenance, and user impacts, with a Baseline Strategy guiding maintenance. The bill also requires using MEPDG/DARWin-ME for highway design and applying the Alternate Design/Alternate Bid process to all major projects.

Who It Affects

• Alabama Department of Transportation (DOT) — must conduct LCCA, develop baseline maintenance strategies, and adopt MEPDG/DARWin-ME as well as the Alternate Design/Alternate Bid process for major projects.
• Private sector engineering firms, consultants, and construction bidders — must provide data for LCCA and follow the Alternate Design/Alternate Bid and MEPDG/DARWin-ME design requirements for major projects.

Key Provisions

• Life-cycle cost analysis (LCCA) required for each major infrastructure project before obligating state funds, spanning a 50-year period and using actual material and maintenance costs, plus a Baseline Strategy for maintenance.
• Major Infrastructure Project defined as projects with total cost of at least $3,000,000, including highways, transit, rail, airports, seaports, public housing, energy, water, bridges, and military construction.
• LCCA must be completed for each major project within six months after the act’s effective date.
• DOT must use the Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) and DARWin-ME for highway design within 12 months, and must apply the Alternate Design/Alternate Bid process for all major projects within 12 months.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 24, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Transportation Department