A review and classification of multi-criteria decision-making methods for highway asset management

Highways have a significant impact on economic development and social well-being and require effective management strategies to extend their useful life and increase resource efficiency. This paper explores the best multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) approach to highway asset management, which is critical to improving the service life and efficiency of infrastructures in contemporary transport networks. Despite the frequent use of MCDA methods, there is a lack of comprehensive evaluation to compare their effectiveness in specific asset management applications. To address this gap, we conducted an exhaustive literature review to identify the most effective MCDA strategies for managing road assets. Our research includes defining key terms and concepts associated with road assets, building a targeted literature collection through a strategic search process, and conducting a comprehensive comparative analysis of the MCDA approach. The results show that despite the limitations of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), more studies choose it because of its simplicity and comprehensiveness in the decision-making process.