Merfeld: Highway Maintenance Drives Value, and Value Drives Customer Revenue

Peter Merfeld, P.E., Chief Operating Officer of the Maine Turnpike Authority, is Chief Meeting Organizer for IBTTA’s 2016 Maintenance and Roadway Operations Workshop, May 15-17, 2016 in Newport, Rhode Island. In this interview with Tolling Points, he sets the context for two days of discussion on the day-in, day-out task of keeping tolled facilities in top condition.

What are the most important priorities and trends on the agenda for this year’s Workshop?

The theme of the Workshop is People, Partnerships and Progress. We are all in the mobility business. Moving traffic safely and efficiently is our priority as an industry. For most major toll roads across the country, traffic has grown significantly in the past several years. And as volumes increase, providing our customers with the appropriate level of service is key. The agenda covers a variety of areas, but it all comes back to safety and serving our customers. Technology, collaboration, and communications all play a role, and will be discussed in the breakout sessions.

With five years of stable highway federal funding now in place for the United States, is the conversation on maintenance and roadway operations shifting from wish lists to action? Or is it just business as usual for tolling agencies that already have a steady, predictable mechanism to pay for routine maintenance?

Most independent toll agencies have financial commitments to bondholders that require them to have the sustainable funding that tolling can provide. Maintaining their facilities is key to providing value. It’s that value that attracts customers, and customers drive revenue.

My agency has a fully funded 30-year plan that we use to make long-term life cycle cost decisions. We are exclusively funded by revenues from tolls and our five service plazas, and receive no state or federal funds. We own and operate 110 miles of an Interstate facility which is of the highest priority, since it is the lifeblood of Maine’s economy. Stable federal highway funding is good, as it allows the DOTs to plan accordingly. But it has to go a long way, and state departments of transportation still need to prioritize and defer maintenance.

We know how that story ends: Agencies that continually defer maintenance may end up spending more on capital improvements later on, or in many cases deal with unacceptable conditions on lower-volume roads. That’s where tolled facilities, with their stable, long-term financial foundation, have an important advantage.

The workshop agenda puts a lot of emphasis on emerging technologies—from safety information apps, to drones. How has the scene changed in the last two to five years, and what does the immediate future hold?

As a planning committee, we’re excited about the drone presentation. The applications for drones are only now being tested, and we will get the benefit of hearing from the people out in the field who are pioneering their use.

Another area of growing interest is connected vehicles. Vehicles today are getting smarter and have more capabilities. They have the potential to change the way transportation facilities communicate with their customers in the future.

As I mentioned before, traffic is on the rise again, so maintaining that mobility while making improvements or even doing minor tasks like pavement markings or small bridge repairs can reduce throughput and wreak havoc on the travelling public. We will hear from the highway maintenance wizards who are managing traffic flow while getting the work done.

The Maintenance and Roadway Operations workshop is always a fantastic place for hallway conversations and one-on-one problem-solving. How does this year’s program support that networking among maintenance and operations professionals?

The workshop starts off with a great technical tour of the Pell Bridge. We’ll spend time on a ferry together, and we’ll also have an opportunity to work together for a great cause at the service project. Many of the presentations are expected to be interactive and deliver takeaways that attendees can bring home and put to immediate use. Our vendor displays will be set up in the break areas, which always leads to conversations and discussions regarding the various exhibits.

Register today for IBTTA’s 2016 Maintenance and Roadway Operations Workshop, May 15-17, 2016 in Newport, Rhode Island.