Right of Way Acquisition Duration Prediction Model for Highway Construction Projects

Aleithawe, I., Sinno, R., & McAnally, W. H. (2011). Right of Way Acquisition Duration Prediction Model for Highway Construction Projects. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management. American Society of Civil Engineers. April, 540-544.

A key element in moving a highway construction project forward is the ability to acquire the Right of Way (ROW) in a timely manner. Delay in the acquisition process can lead to major delays to the construction phase. Identifying the delay factors would allow for a better acquisition management process. Thirty five projects, with 1478 parcels, acquired by the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) were randomly selected for analysis to determine the factors affecting acquisition duration. The analysis of the data was done using Statistica7 software with t–test, correlation, scatter plot and analysis of variance to gain some understanding of the dataset and to test the Null Hypothesis (Ho), that there is no difference exists between the control and experimental variables, significance and standard multi regression analysis to statistically quantify the factors that contributed to acquisition duration delay. Condemnation ratio, number of revisions (design change) and number of parcels per project were identified as significant factors that contributed to acquisition delay. A ROW acquisition regression prediction model was developed and tested with a separate set of data to prove its applicability and validity in general terms.