Optimizing Budget Allocation for Low-Volume Roads Through the AHP-TOPSIS Approach

Research Title : Optimizing Budget Allocation for Low-Volume Roads Through the AHP-TOPSIS Approach

Co-Researchers : Dr. Pawarotorn Chaipetch

The study focuses on prioritizing rural road maintenance under constrained public budgets using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) combined with the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS).

The research evaluates 724 one-kilometer road sections across regional bureaus of Thailand’s Department of Rural Roads. Expert-derived criteria weights were established using AHP, with verified consistency (CR < 0.10), and incorporated into a TOPSIS-based ranking procedure.

The results indicate that the AHP-TOPSIS framework achieves comparable aggregate pavement performance, reduces inter-regional variability in post-maintenance International Roughness Index (IRI), and increases total maintenance coverage by 7.4% within the same fiscal envelope. The multi-criteria framework also produces a more balanced investment distribution across strategic categories and demonstrates closer alignment with strategic policy goals.