# A Multi-Objective Evaluation Method for Smart Highway Operation and Management
## 1 Introduction  
With the continuous improvement of highway networks worldwide, highway operations management is undergoing a transformation from being focused on facilities to being focused on users. The highway transportation industry is progressing towards rapid digitization and informatization, as well as intelligent highway infrastructure. The concept of a smart highway has also been proposed to extend and innovate the traditional highway system [1].  
Based on international explorations in the development of smart highway construction, there is a fundamental consensus on their service functions. Smart highways aim to fully leverage the functional attributes of highways by integrating advanced sensing, communication, information processing, and control technologies, thereby forming an open and shared foundational platform. With goals focused on safety, efficiency, convenience, and sustainability, smart highways adopt diverse management and service modes. They provide reliable networked transit services for the rapid transportation of people and goods, offer a free communication service for vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-road interactions, deliver responsive emergency services around the clock, and furnish travelers with refined and autonomous travel services [2]. Therefore, smart highways have the potential to meet the practical needs of the public in the long term. They have been attracting increasing attention and show broad prospects for application.  
The construction of smart highways still poses certain challenges [3]. Existing research findings have not provided substantial guidance for the widespread construction of smart highways due to significant variations in infrastructure conditions and traffic operations among different regions' highways. Currently, there is a lack of unified standards for evaluating decision factors related to facility equipment, operational management, and the overall quality of smart highways. Moreover, the assessment of smart highway systems poses difficulties in obtaining standardized and quantitative data due to the consideration of multiple indicators. To address these issues, regional characteristics of smart highways must be analyzed, an effective evaluation system must be developed, and a differentiated construction strategy must be proposed to guide the targeted development of highways. Research on an evaluation system for smart highways holds significant practical engineering relevance.  
In the context of growing interest in smart highways, there is an absence of in-depth analysis of the theoretical system of this emerging field. This lack of research is particularly evident in the following areas: the essential connotation of smart highways, basic support in the construction process, the quantitative and qualitative evaluation of construction and management, and the selection and optimization of specific evaluation methods [4; 5; 6]. Therefore, this paper presents a summary of the development mode and current situation of smart highways. It investigates multiple smart highways in different regions, integrates subjective and objective weighting methods, and develops and consolidates a scientific evaluation system based on the needs of practical smart highway management. This evaluation system is founded on the principles of systematicity, authenticity, and quantifiability. It integrates the development goals of efficiency, safety, intelligence, and sustainability with the construction and management concepts of facility structure, electromechanical facilities, and operation services. This comprehensive multi-level and multi-indicator system is well suited for both the management department to assess the intelligence level of the smart highway and for the operational department to offer guidance on the construction of the smart highway.