Evaluate economic benefits and costs
for General Highways.
The California Life-Cycle Benefit-Cost Analysis Tool (Cal-B/C) calculates its life-cycle costs and benefits, net present value, benefit/cost ratio, internal rate of return, payback period as well as annual benefits.
Results support funding decisions and prioritization for transportation investments statewide.
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Cal-B/C Tool Overview
Cal-B/C is continuously updated to ensure that it aligns with current transportation benefit - cost findings and practices.
Cal-B/C consists of five different tools, tailored to the type of project you are analzing:
- Cal-B/C Sketch: Helps you do a BCA to assess highway and transit projects with very little data.
- Cal-B/C Corridor: A post processor that uses data from travel demand or microsimulation models to analyze projects.
- Cal-B/C AT: Tailored to active transportation projects that involve cycling or walking.
- Cal-B/C PnR: Assess park and ride projects that may involve carpools, buses, or commuter rail.
- Cal-B/C IF: Assess intermodal freight facilities.
Caltrans continuously updates these tools to ensure they have the latest economic parameters and align with best practices.
The California Transportation Commission endorses Cal-B/C tools for grant applications and local partnership program applications.
The Cal-B/C models are periodically modified to comply with benefit - cost guidance from USDOT, so it can be used for federal grant applications.
Cal-B/C Sketch supports evaluation of 29 project types in 4 main categories, and its results can be combined with results from other Cal-B/C tools. However, it cannot evaluate these project types:
- Interchange, local roads, and roundabouts
- Active Transportation
- Park and Ride Facilities
- Intermodal Freight Facilities
Cal-B/C Corridor should be used for the project types above, and is also recommended when travel demand model (TDM) or micro-simulation model data is available.
Analysis Process Stages
Section 1: Project Information
- 1A - Project Data
- 1B - Highway Design and Traffic Data
- 1C - Highway Crash Data
- 1D - Rail and Transit Data
- 1E - Project Costs
Section 2: Model Inputs
Use the steps below to adjust estimated speeds, volumes, crash rates, and travel time reliability standard deviations, and to check trip counts for projects affecting vehicle occupancy.
- 2A - Highway Speed and Volume Inputs
- 2B - Highway Crash Rates
- 2C - Ramp and Arterial Inputs
- 2D - Annual Person-Trips
- 2E - Travel Time Reliability