Transportation Infrastructure: FHWA Should Access and Compare the Benefits of Projects When Awarding Discretionary Grants
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Transportation Infrastructure: FHWA Should Access and Compare the Benefits of Projects When Awarding Discretionary Grants

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  • Corporate Creators:
    United States. Government Accountability Office
  • Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Publication/ Report Number:
    Report No: GAO/RCED-99-263
  • Resource Type:
    Research Paper
  • Geographical Coverage:
    United States
  • Abstract:
    The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) required a number of changes to the Department of Transportation's (DOT) process for awarding discretionary grants administered by the FHWA. The act directed the Secretary of Transportation to establish and publish criteria for awarding grants under these discretionary programs that, to the extent practicable, conform to an executive order that outlines principles for federal infrastructure investments. The executive order directed federal agencies to make infrastructure investments based on an analytical evaluation of the expected benefits and costs, including an evaluation of the trade-offs among a variety of investment options. The act also directed the Secretary to issue reports to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (the authorizing committees) specifying the results of the project selections and how projects were selected. In addition, two appropriations committees expressed concerns about the project selection process and directed FHWA to develop specific merit-based criteria for the selection of discretionary projects for funding. As part of the Congess' oversight of FHWA's discretionary programs, the General Accounting Office (GAO) was asked to: (1) determine how FHWA has implemented the requirements specified in TEA-21 and (2) compare the results of the selection process for fiscal years 1998-99 with the results of the selection process for fiscal years 1995 through 1997 that the GAO previously reported on. Briefly, the results indicate that FHWA has only partially implemented the requirements in TEA-21. FHWA developed and published criteria for selecting projects in 1998 and reported its selections to the House and Senate authorizing committees in 1999. In addition, FHWA considered the estimated cost of each project when it determined which projects to fund and the amount of funds to provide. However, with the exception of the Discretionary Bridge Program, FHWA staff do not evaluate or suggest projects on the basis of a comparative analysis of the projects' transportation benefits (e.g., improving safety, mobility, and air quality). Tables, figures, appendices. 45p.
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