Highway Project Cost and Schedule-Related Performance Comparison Based on Locations

10 pages•Published: June 2, 2026

Abstract

Design-Bid-Build (DBB) remains the most common approach for building highways used by the State Department of Transportation (DOT). About 80% of highway projects are still built using this method. This study collected data on 140 DBB highway projects with total costs exceeding $10 million from five Texas DOTs: Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio. The study analyzes cost- and schedule-related data from these projects and compares their performance across these five districts. Statistical test results show that projects completed under the Houston district had higher cost growth than those in Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio. However, the projects completed under the Houston district had significantly lower schedule growth than those completed under the Austin, Dallas, and Fort Worth districts. This study shows that the project owner also plays a key role in highway project performance and that the district management style is key to reducing cost and schedule growth. The study’s main contribution is that DOTs should identify effective working practices used across district offices to control highway project costs and schedules, so these practices can be applied in future projects to improve performance.

Keyphrases: construction intensity, design bid build, texas dot, total cost growth, total schedule growth

In: Wesley Collins, Anthony Perrenoud and John Posillico (editors). Proceedings of Associated Schools of Construction 62nd Annual International Conference, vol 7, pages 843-852.

Links:	https://easychair.org/publications/paper/NQcf
	https://doi.org/10.29007/sh2s

BibTeX entry

@inproceedings{ASC2026:Highway_Project_Cost_Schedule,
  author    = {Pramen Shrestha and Rahul Das},
  title     = {Highway Project Cost and Schedule-Related Performance Comparison Based on Locations},
  booktitle = {Proceedings of Associated Schools of Construction 62nd Annual International Conference},
  editor    = {Wesley Collins and Anthony Perrenoud and John Posillico},
  series    = {EPiC Series in Built Environment},
  volume    = {7},
  publisher = {EasyChair},
  bibsource = {EasyChair, https://easychair.org},
  issn      = {2632-881X},
  url       = {/publications/paper/NQcf},
  doi       = {10.29007/sh2s},
  pages     = {843-852},
  year      = {2026}}

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