Federal-aid project streamlining – what’s next? John T. Davis, P.E., PSM Chief Engineer, Jacksonville Transportation Authority Orange Park, Florida Member, APWA Transportation Committee ith enactment, on August 10, 2005, of the last federal transportation authorization legislation, the “Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users” (SAFETEA-LU), Congress created a commission to study and recommend policies to provide Highway Trust Fund revenues sufficient to meet highway and transit needs. The National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission’s final report, released in February 2009, determined our nation needs to invest approximately $100 billion annually at the federal government level to maintain and improve our nation’s highway and transit systems. Highway Trust Fund revenues annually provide only about one-third of the projected need and are remaining relatively flat
with a slight annual decline. Now, almost three years and nine extensions after expiration of SAFETEA-LU on September 30, 2009, the U.S. Senate’s proposed transportation bill would provide approximately $54.5 billion of funding annually for the next two years. (Let’s hope that, by the time you’re reading this article, it’s not after 10 extensions.) At this point, it’s quite evident that any new federal transportation authorization legislation will not include the funding needed to maintain, repair and expand our nation’s transportation facilities. Therefore, it becomes even more imperative that any new legislation includes streamlining of the project process which allows us to again, “do more with less.” So, let’s review what’s happened with streamlining
New Kings Rd. Pedestrian and Transit Improvements Project, $2.0 million LPA Project (all federal funding), Jacksonville, Florida 58 APWA Reporter
July 2012
of federal-aid transportation projects over the recent couple of years and what’s in the works for the next year.
Past streamlining efforts The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) launched its “Every Day Counts” (EDC) program in late 2010. EDC is Administrator Mendez’s personal initiative to shorten the delivery time for federal-aid projects by 50 percent. More information on EDC can be found online at http:// www.fhwa.dot.gov/everydaycounts/. Realizing the importance of this effort to local government members of both associations, APWA and the National Association of County Engineers (NACE) have partnered with FHWA on the EDC Program since prior to its formal launch. APWA participated in FHWA’s 10 EDC Regional Innovation Summits held around the nation in the fall of 2010. At the request of NACE and APWA, FHWA held four regional Peer Exchange meetings across the nation, which focused on state and local government problems in delivering federal-aid local highway projects and potential solutions to those problems and shared Best Practices. As a result of these EDC Peer Exchange regional meetings, FHWA developed and delivered nationally broadcast video conference sessions, specifically targeted to local governments and their consultants. The purposes of these EDC Exchange sessions were to allow local and state government participants to hear from national subject matter experts about
