Recovery.gov - Track the Money

The types of improvements that are being funded include new construction and/or reconstruction of roadways, roadway maintenance including the 4 Rs (resurfacing, restoration, rehabilitation, and relocation), bridge replacement or rehabilitation, and safety improvements. Many of the projects are already ready to be let for bid and/or under contract as soon as Recovery Act funds are available. As of May 12, 2009 the following dollar amounts (and their percentages relative to the total amount of funds obligated) were the following:

Project Type Obligations % Total
Transportation Enhancements $84,127,58 0.8%
Safety/Traffic Management $602,271,98 5.8%
Pavement Widening $1,652,992,653 15.9%
Pavement Improvement $5,976,934,447 57.5%
Other $215,134,369 2.1%
New Construction $585,020,281 5.6%
New Bridge Construction $252,729,615 2.4%
Bridge Replacement $594,946,031 5.7%
Bridge Improvement $422,296,809 4.1%
TOTAL $10,386,453,780

Based on prior experiences, the relative percentages are expected to remain consistent as the remaining 60 percent of available funds are obligated and expensed. Additionally major projects funded in whole or part with Recovery Act funds include adding additional High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes in California ($189 million), new bridge construction in Florida and Connecticut ($127 million and $72 million, respectively) and major road rehabilitation projects in New Jersey (Route 295, $81 million), Kansas (U.S. 69 Corridor in Overland Park, $62 million) and New York (Route 112 in Brookhaven, $49 million).

FHWA Division Offices will assess Recovery Act risks and vulnerabilities specific to their State and local programs and implement a risk management plan to mitigate these risks. The Federal-Aid Highway program is a federally assisted State-administered partnership between FHWA and the States. Section 106 of Title 23, United States Code, requires FHWA and each State enter into an agreement documenting the extent to which the State assumes the responsibilities under Title 23, and that FHWA establishes an oversight program to monitor the effectiveness and efficient use of funds authorized under Title 23. These stewardship agreements document the various approaches for handling project delegation and oversight, including program reviews, performance measures, risk assessments, and financial review. The stewardship agreements provide the framework critical to effectively managing Recovery Act risks in each State.

FHWA will use site visits and analysis to increase monitoring and review of Recovery Act projects at the national level to ensure compliance with Federal requirements and minimize the potential for fraud, waste, and abuse. This level of national oversight is a new strategy for FHWA and has been developed explicitly to address the Recovery Act. The purpose of these reviews is to provide an independent evaluation of State processes and procedures along with project-level verification to ensure compliance with Federal requirements. These reviews will augment the Agency’s oversight role in relation to the increased risks posed by the large amount of funding and expedited timeframes. Any process or project-level concerns will be referred to the Division Office for resolution as appropriate unless national trends warrant further attention.

FHWA has established monthly collection of direct employment data from States and other FHWA grant recipients. In addition, as part of the reviews and oversight of State compliance with the Recovery Act, FHWA will monitor performance metrics identified in the Risk Management Plan. The newly reported data and information, when correlated to financial data from existing systems at the national level, will allow us to conduct analysis in high-risk areas that were previously impossible. This analysis may provide insights to further strengthen our program and project oversight efforts and allow us to identify and address emerging vulnerabilities.

FHWA will provide outreach, seminars, and lessons learned at the National and Division (State) level to respond to risks associated with the Recovery Act program, audits, and known vulnerabilities, especially Local Public Agency (LPA) oversight, fraud prevention, and the DBE program. Since much of the work to improve performance in these areas started before the Recovery Act, FHWA is in a good position to address these known vulnerabilities. Recovery Act implementation can provide both the focus and sense of urgency to implement planned improvements and provide needed training. This communication and education strategy will prepare our partners and stakeholders to implement the Recovery Act expeditiously, while minimizing the identified risks. FHWA has established a Recovery Act web page to assist all FHWA partners and stakeholders in implementing the Act as expeditiously as possible.

FHWA offices will include Recovery Act activities in their FY 2009-2010 unit performance plans. FHWA uses corrective action plans to actively monitor and track through completion findings identified in external and internal audits and reviews. Program managers and other employees at FHWA will be held accountable by supervisors for meeting Recovery Act-specific goals through existing review processes.

Recovery Act funds will help to reduce emissions and improve energy efficiency in the following ways: improving traffic flow, thereby reducing vehicle idling and stop-and-start driving conditions that are associated with higher levels of emissions; encouraging changes in travel behavior that reduce motor vehicle miles traveled (such as shifts to ridesharing, bicycling, or walking); and using technologies to reduce the rate of emissions.