15.3.3.1 Tools for Operations B/C Analysis (TOPS-BC)

The TOPS-BC is an FHWA-developed sketch-level or macroscopic planning and operations B/C decision support tool in the form of an Excel spreadsheet. This tool can be found in
Appendix P, Section 2 – External References (Reference 3)
. The guidance provided in the Desk Reference includes the fundamental background information for B/C analysis, while the TOPS-BC user’s manual focuses on the setup and operation of the TOPS-BC spreadsheet. According to the TOPS-BC user’s manual, the TOPS-BC benefit estimation methodology was developed to incorporate the assessment of new MOEs, such as travel time reliability, that are more capable of capturing and analyzing the unique impacts of TSMO strategies.
TOPS-BC can be used to evaluate the cost-effectiveness and potential return on investment of candidate TSMO projects during the early stages of project development. The tool has two key capabilities:
  • Estimate Life-cycle Costs of TSMO Strategies
     – provides a framework and default cost data to estimate the lifecycle costs (including capital, replacement, and continuing operations and maintenance costs) of various TSMO projects.
  • Conduct Simple Spreadsheet-Based B/C Analysis for Selected TSMO Strategies
    – Provides a framework and suggested impact values to conduct B/C analysis for selected strategies.
The Life-cycle cost estimation capability of TOPS-BC provides the capability to estimate the costs of various TSMO strategies. The tool is developed to provide scalable costs dependent on the scope of the user's anticipated deployments. The life-cycle cost estimates include both up front capital costs as well as on-going operations and maintenance (O&M) costs. The tool is also capable of displaying average annual costs and the expected stream of costs over time. Compared to more traditional transportation capacity improvements, TSMO projects typically have a greater proportion of continuous O&M costs, as opposed to upfront capital costs.
The B/C analysis capability enables the user to estimate the potential benefits of various TSMO strategies. TOPS-BC is designed to provide sketch planning estimates of TSMO strategy benefits primarily targeted at fulfilling the needs of practitioners wanting to conduct preliminary screening and initial prioritization of TSMO strategies. These benefits may then be compared with the estimated strategy life-cycle costs to produce the net benefit measures and B/C ratio.