ALDOT Statewide TSMO Program Plan ALDOT Statewide TSMO Program Plan 20190522REV | Page 37

5.2.2 Project Evaluation
The ALDOT faces growing challenges addressing increasing needs with decreasing funding resources. This
heightens the importance of how projects are evaluated and prioritized for funding. The following project
evaluation recommended methodology has been developed to clearly and objectively allocate funding
resources based on data driven decisions and critical needs throughout the state.
Project evaluation criteria have been developed within the framework of the statewide TSMO goals and
are consistent with the deployment guidelines described above. This framework relies on relative
prioritization of the plan goals, with weighting as outlined below.
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Safety (35%)
Mobility (30%)
Accountability (15%)
Collaboration (10%)
Innovation (10%)
Based on stakeholder input, departmental direction, and technical analysis, the weighting scale for this
framework was designed with the understanding that all these goals are important to project as well as
system success. It is possible that over time, the relative weighting of each of these elements may change
as some priorities shift due to system maturity and other evolving conditions.
The relative weighting of each plan goal is comprised of criteria scores designed to support plan objectives.
Each criterion has a corresponding data-based (quantitative and/or qualitative) assessment, which was
derived based on known available data, process, and guidance designed through the Statewide TSMO
Master Plan process. As part of plan implementation, as well as for future planning efforts, regional TSMO
staff would leverage this framework to develop and evaluate potential projects within their region to
produce a list of recommendations that can be evaluated and prioritized at the statewide level for
implementation. It is recommended that a project application and evaluation cycle be developed and
implemented annually.
A TSMO project evaluation tool has been developed to assist in the prioritization process, providing a
transparent, consistent, data driven approach to allocating funds. The Excel-based tool compiles project
specific user responses and ranks them relative to the established weighted criteria. It should be note,
that the deployment guidelines and evaluation criteria are largely dependent upon the same data
resources, thus encouraging use of the deployment guidelines and making efficient use of resources. Each
project will be evaluated relative to the project specific need. The analysis and maps referenced in the
previous deployment guidelines section will be used to guide scoring each criterion. The following criteria
are considered within each goal category:
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