Cost-Effectiveness of Countermeasures for Utility Pole Accidents

摘要

The purpose of the study was to develop a cost-effectiveness analysis procedure for the optimal selection of countermeasures for utility pole accidents. It involved the collection and analysis of accident, traffic and roadway data for over 2,500 miles of urban and rural roads from four states. The results of the data analysis showed that lateral pole offset, traffic volume, and pole density were the factors most highly related to utility pole accidents; and a utility pole accident predictive model was developed. Based on the cost-effectiveness analysis, undergrounding and pole relocation were found to be cost-effective for telephone and electric distribution lines under various traffic and roadway conditions.