Louisiana. Dept. of Transportation and Development

NTL-PLANNING AND POLICY-PLANNING AND POLICY

PDF

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of privatizing all civil engineering operations in

the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD). It was investigated by

conducting a national and international literature review and a cost analysis. Privatization of all civil

engineering operations in a state DOT has not been attempted in the U.S. but several other countries

have privatized their entire state transport agencies. Most foreign privatization efforts report cost

savings and improved delivery of service. However, not all applications have succeeded and all express

concern with one or more aspects of their application, resulting in the privatization process remaining a

“work in progress” in most applications. In this study, the cost comparison of conducting all civil

engineering operations in-house versus by the private sector resulted in an estimate of no cost savings

from privatizing the civil engineering operations in DOTD. The privatization of the civil engineering

operations of DOTD is not recommended, although it is recommended that opportunities to outsource

more individual tasks in DOTD be investigated.

US Transportation Collection

13-9SS
30000840