Performance-based maintenance contracts (PBMCs) have been experimented with worldwide by government agencies, and have increasingly been adopted to outsource highway maintenance to the private market (NCHRP, 2009, p. 8; Porter, 2005, p. 3). This includes the Netherlands (Rijkswaterstaat, 2014). The use of performance contracts for maintenance is relatively new and agencies encounter numerous difficulties in working with these contracts. Many studies exist on the topic of performance contracts, but studies specifically aimed at understanding the problems in performance-based maintenance contracts are few (Sultana, Rahman, & Chowdhury, 2012, p. 288). This research contributes to filling that knowledge gap, by researching performance-based maintenance contracts used for highway maintenance. The Dutch highway network grew significantly during the 60s and 70s. Many new kilometres of highway, bridges, and viaducts were constructed to accommodate the growing traffic needs (Rijkswaterstaat, 2007, p. 7). Most of those assets are nearing the end of their technical lifespan in the years after 2020 (Goldenbeld, Dijkstra, Aarts, & Schermers, 2016, p. 11; Rijkswaterstaat, 2017, p. 22). This wave of aging infrastructure that the Netherlands is facing in the coming years was the reason for this research to focus on the maintenance of the Dutch highway network...