Improving and Maintaining Federal-aid Roads, Department of Transportation Action Needed

Improving and Maintaining Federal-aid Roads, Department of Transportation Action Needed PDF Author: United States. General Accounting Office
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Roads
Languages : en
Pages : 38

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Improving and Maintaining Federal-aid Roads, Department of Transportation Action Needed

Improving and Maintaining Federal-aid Roads, Department of Transportation Action Needed PDF Author: United States. General Accounting Office
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Roads
Languages : en
Pages : 38

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Improving and Maintaining Federal-aid Roads--Department of Transportation Action Needed

Improving and Maintaining Federal-aid Roads--Department of Transportation Action Needed PDF Author: Henry Eschwege
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 20

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Transportation Infrastructure

Transportation Infrastructure PDF Author: United States. General Accounting Office
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Infrastructure (Economics)
Languages : en
Pages : 60

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Federal-aid Highways

Federal-aid Highways PDF Author: United States. Government Accountability Office
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Federal aid to transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 60

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The federal-aid highway program provides over $25 billion a year to states for highway and bridge projects, often paying 80 percent of these projects' costs. The federal government provides funding for and oversees this program, while states largely choose and manage the projects. Ensuring that states effectively control the cost and schedule performance of these projects is essential to ensuring that federal funds are used efficiently. We reviewed the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) approach to improving its federal-aid highway project oversight efforts since we last reported on it in 2002, including (1) FHWA's oversight-related goals and performance measures, (2) FHWA's oversight improvement activities, (3) challenges FHWA faces in improving project oversight, and (4) best practices for project oversight. FHWA has made progress in improving its oversight efforts since 2002, but it lacks a comprehensive approach, including goals and measures that guide its activities; workforce plans that support these goals and measures; and data collection and analysis efforts that help identify problems and transfer lessons learned. FHWA's 2004 performance plan established, for the first time, performance goals and outcome measures to limit cost growth and schedule slippage on projects, but these goals and measures have not been effectively implemented because FHWA has not linked its day-to-day activities or the expectations set for its staff to them, nor is FHWA fully using them to identify problems and target its oversight. FHWA undertook activities in response to concerns raised about the adequacy of its oversight efforts that have both promising elements and limitations. For example, while FHWA now assigns a project oversight manager to each major project (generally projects costing $1 billion or more) and identified skills these managers should possess, it has not yet defined the role of these managers or established agencywide performance expectations for them. While FHWA issued guidance to improve cost estimating and began collecting information on cost increases, it still does not have the capability to track and measure cost growth on projects. Finally, although FHWA received direction to develop a more multidisciplinary workforce to conduct oversight, it has not fully incorporated this direction into its recruiting and training efforts. FHWA faces challenges to improving its oversight that are in large part rooted in the structure of the federal-aid highway program and in FHWA's organization and culture. As such, they may be difficult to surmount. For example, because the program does not link funding to states with the accomplishment of performance goals and outcome measures, it may be difficult for FHWA to define the role and purpose of its oversight. Also, FHWA's decentralized organization makes it difficult to achieve a consistent organizational vision. Human capital challenges affecting much of the federal government have affected FHWA, particularly in its need to transform its workforce to meet its evolving oversight mission. FHWA faces an increased oversight workload in the years ahead as the number of major projects grows and if provisions Congress is considering to increase FHWA's responsibilities become law. Questions exist about FHWA's ability to effectively absorb these new responsibilities, overcome underlying challenges, and improve its oversight. We identified selected best practices that could help FHWA develop a framework for a comprehensive approach to project oversight. These include establishing measurable goals to objectively and quantifiably assess progress, making oversight managers accountable for the effective implementation of these goals, providing professional training, and collecting and transferring lessons learned.

The Administration of Federal Aid for Highways and Other Activities of the Bureau of Public Roads

The Administration of Federal Aid for Highways and Other Activities of the Bureau of Public Roads PDF Author: United States. Bureau of Public Roads
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Federal aid to transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 8

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Federal Surface Transportation Programs and Transportation Planning for Federal Land Management Agencies - a Guidebook

Federal Surface Transportation Programs and Transportation Planning for Federal Land Management Agencies - a Guidebook PDF Author: U. S. Department of Transportation
Publisher: Createspace Independent Pub
ISBN: 9781482331547
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 112

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Book Description
Multiple governmental jurisdictions have responsibilities for the transportation systems that provide access to or within Federal lands. Transportation networks are seamless only when these networks are managed holistically. It is critical that Federal agency transportation planning efforts be integrated with those of the States, other Federal agencies, Tribal governments, Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), counties, and communities to improve the effectiveness of the entire system. Local communities—and the Federal lands that border them—are intricately linked. Federal lands adjacent to communities contribute significantly to the economy, cultural identity, and quality of life in these communities. They provide scenic beauty and recreational opportunities and help nourish ecological values, benefiting local communities and nearby metropolitan areas. As members of the greater community, Federal land management agency transportation planners and other managers need to work with area leaders to create transportation, land use, and economic development strategies that preserve natural resources while supporting local economic and other community objectives. Better transportation links are emerging between State and local transportation systems including transit systems and Federal land transportation systems to help people access Federal land. As the connection between these systems becomes more seamless, this coordinated transportation network stimulates new Federal land uses and activities for recreation, allows for more effective land management, and enhances rural transportation infrastructure for surrounding private land. However, this increased use creates challenges for maintaining natural resources such as wildlife, fish, plants, cultural resources, water quality, stream function, and environmental quality overall. The guidebook is designed to assist Federal land managers, staff, and partners in developing relationships and in maximizing participation in Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) surface transportation programs. With the technical assistance available through the FHWA and the FTA, the agencies can help further regional and local community goals and better fulfill their mission including resource protection and environmental quality. Seamless transportation systems and Federal land management agencies' commitment to building better relationships with States and other partners helps agencies achieve their mission and provide effective land stewardship and public service. The FHWA and FTA funding is very flexible and can be used for many activities beyond just constructing roads including enhancing roadside areas, providing traveler services, constructing trails, and improving environmental conditions alongside roads and trails. Most of the funding available through Federal surface transportation programs cannot be accessed directly by the Federal land management agencies (FLMAs). To benefit from most of these FHWA and FTA funding programs, the Federal agencies must partner with the State or local governments. Agencies must participate in the State's and/or region's transportation planning process to ensure that projects that are important to the agencies are included in the State's project priority list known as the statewide transportation improvement program or STIP. In a metropolitan area, projects must be included in a similar list called the transportation improvement program or TIP, which is ultimately incorporated into the STIP, either directly or by reference. This guidebook outlines the transportation planning process and serves as a primer on: Which activities are eligible for funding; Where to find funding; Actions required for Federal land managers to access and benefit from these funds and programs; Which agencies to partner with; How to integrate Federal land management objectives with State and local objectives.

Federal Aid to Good Roads

Federal Aid to Good Roads PDF Author: United States. Congress. Joint Committee on Federal Aid in the Construction of Post Roads
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Roads
Languages : en
Pages : 28

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Oversight of the Federal-aid Highway Program

Oversight of the Federal-aid Highway Program PDF Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Environment and Public Works. Subcommittee on Water Resources, Transportation, and Infrastructure
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Federal aid to transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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America on the Move

America on the Move PDF Author: United States. Federal Highway Administration. Program Coordination Division
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Express highways
Languages : en
Pages : 54

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Implementation of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982

Implementation of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 PDF Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Environment and Public Works. Subcommittee on Transportation
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Federal aid to transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 802

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