The purpose of this thesis was to prioritize the barriers and the overcoming strategies in implementing Lean Construction within transportation projects in Michigan, United States. Lean Construction was a paradigm shift in thinking, organizational behavior, and working culture that focuses on eliminating waste and maximizing project value. The construction industry, as a significant U.S. gross domestic product contributor, does not experience growth in labor productivity when compared to industries such as manufacturing. In the publicly financed construction of highways, streets and bridges, it was crucially important to ensure that projects are delivered as efficiently as possible. Recent research showed a lack of studies on Lean Construction implementation barriers in the transportation industry within the U.S. An in-depth literature review was performed to identify Lean Construction implementation barriers. The findings of the literature review make the basis for the design of a survey questionnaire used to gather the perceptions of transportation project stakeholders (e.g. owners, constructors, and designers) on implementation barriers and the overcoming strategies to Lean Construction. This study found that a lack of training and mentoring for Lean methods was the greatest barrier within transportation projects in Michigan. Many of the project team members who perform the physical work were unaware of Lean methods and were not often adequately rewarded. To overcome these barriers, this study found that the employees and workers need to be trained in Lean Construction, in order to create a continuous improvement mindset.
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