News

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently released a report entitled Federal-Aid Highways: Increased Reliance on Contractors Can Pose Oversight Challenges for Federal and State Officials. The GAO recommends United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) officials work with the Federal Highway Administration to better ensure state oversight controls.

The GAO expressed concerns about some states’ procurement and oversight practices including lack of aggressive price negotiations and inconsistent assessment of the quality of consultant and contractor work. Perhaps more important, the GAO warns that increasing reliance on the private sector may lead to a shortage of “in-house expertise that could affect the state DOTs’ ability to adequately oversee the work of contractors and consultants in the long term.”

With highway design standards, quality control, material specifications and assurance guidelines, most state officials believe they have sufficient tools and procedures to oversee contractors and consultants. USDOT did not comment on the report.

Click here to view the entire report.