Highway Projects: Extent of Unobligated Balances for		 
Demonstration Projects (31-AUG-01, GAO-01-985R).		 
								 
Congress has provided funding for numerous highway demonstration 
projects in legislation authorizing surface transportation	 
programs as well as in annual appropriations acts for the	 
Department of Transportation. As of April, 2001, there were 28	 
highway demonstration projects with unobligated balances that are
no longer needed by the states because, according to the Federal 
Highway Administration, the projects are completed. These	 
projects accounted for about $14.6 million in unobligated funds. 
-------------------------Indexing Terms------------------------- 
REPORTNUM:   GAO-01-985R					        
    ACCNO:   A01705						        
    TITLE:   Highway Projects: Extent of Unobligated Balances for     
             Demonstration Projects                                           
     DATE:   08/31/2001 
  SUBJECT:   Appropriated funds 				 
	     Federal aid for highways				 
	     Federal funds					 
	     Public roads or highways				 
	     Unobligated budget balances			 

******************************************************************
** This file contains an ASCII representation of the text of a  **
** GAO Testimony.                                               **
**                                                              **
** No attempt has been made to display graphic images, although **
** figure captions are reproduced.  Tables are included, but    **
** may not resemble those in the printed version.               **
**                                                              **
** Please see the PDF (Portable Document Format) file, when     **
** available, for a complete electronic file of the printed     **
** document's contents.                                         **
**                                                              **
******************************************************************
GAO-01-985R
     
GAO- 01- 985R Highway Projects

August 17, 2001 The Honorable Harold Rogers Chairman, Subcommittee on
Transportation Committee on Appropriations House of Representatives

Subject: Highway Projects: Extent of Unobligated Balances for Demonstration
Projects Dear Mr. Chairman: Congress has provided funding for numerous
highway demonstration projects in legislation authorizing surface
transportation programs as well as in annual appropriations acts for the
Department of Transportation (DOT). In some cases, the projects are
identified in the legislation itself. In others, they are identified in
committee reports accompanying the legislation, or by DOT. These projects
are all designated for specific locations within states and for specific
purposes, and funds made available for them generally remain available until
expended. In order to identify funds that could be rescinded, you asked us
to identify (1) highway demonstration projects with unobligated balances
that are no longer needed and (2) the amount of these balances.

Results

As of April, 2001, there were 28 highway demonstration projects with
unobligated balances that are no longer needed by the states because,
according to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the projects are
completed. These projects accounted for about $14.6 million in unobligated
funds. These funds were provided in authorization or appropriations acts
enacted from 1976 through 1994. The enclosure specifies the budget authority
made available and the obligated and unobligated amounts for each of the
projects as of April 2001, lists the statute( s) and committee report( s)
identifying the projects, beginning with the most recent, and describes
briefly the location and nature of the

completed projects. We provided a draft of this information to your staff on
July 10, 2001. Public Law 107- 20, enacted on July 24, 2001, rescinded
approximately $16 million in budget authority made available by the statutes
we identified in the enclosure.

Our work did not identify the actions FHWA takes to identify completed
highway demonstration projects with unobligated balances so that funds
associated with them could be rescinded. We intend to follow up on this
issue to determine whether FHWA should establish a process for identifying
completed projects on a regular basis.

Scope and Methodology

To identify completed highway demonstration projects with unobligated
balances, we analyzed reports from DOT?s financial management information
system (FMIS) and verified our analysis with FHWA officials. We verified the
statutory sources of the projects and their descriptions by reviewing the
statutes and associated reports. We

United States General Accounting Office Washington, DC 20548

2 GAO- 01- 985R Highway Projects

relied on FMIS to identify the amount of budget authority and obligated and
unobligated amounts for each project and did not independently verify this
information. We conducted our review in May 2001 in accordance with
generally accepted government auditing standards.

Agency Comments

We provided DOT with a draft of this letter for review and comment. DOT
agreed with the information in the draft letter and provided technical
comments, which we incorporated as appropriate.

- - - - As agreed with your office, unless you publicly announce its
contents earlier, we plan no further distribution of this letter until 30
days after the draft of the report. At that time, we will send copies of
this letter to the Secretary of Transportation and the Administrator of the
Federal Highway Administration. The letter will also be available on GAO?s
home page at http:// www. gao. gov.

If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact me at (202)
512- 2834. Sincerely yours,

JayEtta Hecker Director, Physical Infrastructure Issues

Enclosure

Enclosure I 3 GAO- 01- 985R Highway Projects

Summary of Completed Demonstration Projects With Unobligated Balances (as of
April 2001) State

Public law, section, and related report Project description Budget authority
Obligations Unobligated

balance

Kansas Public Law 103-

331 (1994)

Surface Transportation Projects

Conference Report 103- 752

I- 70/ 110 th Street interchange, Kansas City, KS. $3,846,400 $3,535,457
$310,943

Washington Public Law 103-

331 (1994)

Surface Transportation Projects

Conference Report 103- 752

State Road 305 improvements, Bainbridge Island, WA.

672,000 177,109 494,891 Arkansas Public Law 102-

240 (1991) (sect. 1061)

Project to demonstrate the benefits of providing training to county and town
traffic officials in the need for and application of uniform traffic control
devices and the safety benefits of providing for adequate and safe warning
and regulatory signs.

1,200,000 1,194,605 5,395 Illinois Public Law 102-

240 (1991) (sect. 1107( b)( 96))

Tamarack Street extension. 585,257 549,777 35,480 Illinois

Public Law 102- 240 (1991) (sect. 1106( b)( 2)( 15))

A project to improve Dolton Avenue between Torrence Avenue and Indiana State
Line, Burnham, IL.

1,853,314 1,816,647 36,667 Illinois

Public Law 102- 240 (1991) (sect. 1106( a)( 2)( 31))

Tollway feasibility study, East St. Louis to Carbondale, IL.

312,137 312,073 64 Illinois

Public Law 102- 240 (1991) (sect. 1106( a)( 2)( 34))

Bel- Air Road improvement from south of Carmi to State Route 141 in
southeastern White County.

1,755,772 1,713,042 42,730 Illinois

Public Law 102- 240 (1991) (sect. 1106( a)( 2)( 35))

Upgrading Illinois Route 13 in Williamson County, IL.

7,608,343 7,528,343 80,000 Illinois

Public Law 102- 240 (1991) (sect. 1108( b)( 50))

Interstate 255 Interchange. 3, 316,457 3,268,057 48,400 Kentucky

Public Law 102- 240 (1991) (sect. 1106( a)( 2)( 99))

US 27 improvements, Jessamine County, KY. 8,973,943 8,887,389 86,554

Michigan Public Law 102-

240 (1991) (sect. 1107( b)( 53))

Widen and improve pavement in Mundy Township, from Baldwin Road to Cook
Road.

156,069 129,343 26,726

Enclosure I 4 GAO- 01- 985R Highway Projects

State Public law,

section, and related report Project description Budget authority Obligations
Unobligated

balance

New York Public Law 102-

240 (1991) (sect. 1107( b)( 200))

A study of the feasibility of rehabilitation of the South Washington Street
Bridge in Binghamton, NY, to identify plans and specifications for repair if
feasible.

487,714 200,235 287,479 New York

Public Law 102- 240 (1991) (sect. 1106( b)( 2)( 12))

New York State Thruway relocation study, Buffalo (Niagara), NY.

234,103 202,100 32,003 New York

Public Law 102- 240 (1991) (sect. 1104( b)( 13))

Construct turning lanes, sign upgrades, traffic signal interconnections, and
road repair and resurfacing.

2,048,400 1,613,470 434,930 Pennsylvania

Public Law 102- 240 (1991) (sect. 1107( b)( 21))

For safety improvements on the Narrows to eliminate potential problems
brought on by rockslides.

1,560,685 1,394,309 166,376 Pennsylvania

Public Law 102- 240 (1991) (sect. 1107( b)( 110))

Jacobs Timber Bridge over Greater Trough Creek. 341,400 247,744 93,656

Ohio Public Law 102-

143 (1991)

Highway Demonstration Projects

Conference Report 102- 243

Public Law 102- 240 (1991) (sect. 1104( b)( 21))

Ohio Railroad- highway corridor studies (6).

Conduct study of possible safety and traffic delay improvement benefits in
six corridors.

474,103 240,000 234,103 West Virginia

Public Law 102- 143 (1991)

Feasibility, Design, Environmental, Engineering

Conference Report 102- 243

West Virginia, Route No. 2, feasibility, design, environmental, and
preliminary engineering studies.

2,080,000 1,921,598 158,402 Wyoming

Public Law 102- 143 (1991)

Highway Demonstration Projects

Conference Report 102- 243

Chief Joseph Highway. 4, 800,000 4,710,869 89,131

Enclosure I 5 GAO- 01- 985R Highway Projects

State Public law,

section, and related report Project description Budget authority Obligations
Unobligated

balance

West Virginia Public Law 101-

516 (1990)

Highway Demonstration Projects - Preliminary Engineering

Conference Report 101- 892

Public Law 103- 211 (1994) - rescinded a portion of the funds that had been
made available for the project.

Ohio- West Virginia highway (Ohio Route 35 and a routing to be determined in
West Virginia).

103,080 99,674 3, 406 Connecticut Public Law 100-

17 (1987) (sect. 149( a)( 36))

Two demonstration projects:

Southington: A highway project to demonstrate the latest construction
techniques in reconstructing a north- south segment of highway on the
federal- aid urban system in the vicinity of Southington.

Kent Center: A highway project to change horizontal and vertical alignment
of a north- south highway on the federal- aid primary system south of Kent
Center to demonstrate methods of solving safety and flooding problems.

6,332,002 4,100,748

2,231,254 Kansas

Public Law 100- 17 (1987) (sect. 149( a)( 72))

A highway project in Douglas County, KS, to demonstrate methods of reducing
traffic congestion and facilitating the usage by motorists on the Interstate
System of recreational facilities by construction of a limited access road
approximately 14 miles long.

7,180,197 7,179,900 297 Kansas

Public Law 100- 17 (1987) (sect. 149( a)( 86))

A project to construct an interchange at 119 th Street and Interstate Route
I- 35 in the City of Olathe, KS.

20,742,502 20,732,763 9, 739

Enclosure I 6 GAO- 01- 985R Highway Projects

State Public law,

section, and related report Project description Budget authority Obligations
Unobligated

balance

Maryland Public Law 100-

17 (1987) (sect. 149( a)( 93))

A project to realign an intersection to tie Maryland Route 162 directly into
Poplar Avenue.

2,467,013 2,168,664 298,349 Ohio Public Law 100-

17 (1987) (sect. 149( a)( 27))

Wood County, OH: A highway project to construct an interchange connecting
Interstate Route I- 75 and a 4- lane, east- west highway in Perrysburg
Township in Wood County, OH.

15,711,800 7, 323,622 8,388,178 Illinois Public Law 97-

424 (1983) (sect. 131( j)( 1))

Public Law 104- 59 (1995) - rescinded a portion of the funds that had been
made available for the project.

A demonstration project for the purpose of demonstrating the benefits of
constructing usable segments of high- volume facilities and developing
methods to achieve the effective implementation of massive capital
investments made under federal programs that are being discontinued.

98,126,299 97,663,821 462,478 Colorado Public Law 95-

599 (1978) (sect. 150)

Access control demonstration projects designed to demonstrate whether
preserving the capacity of existing highways to move traffic safely by
acquiring and controlling the right of access to such a highway is a
costeffective alternative to the construction of additional highways. The
Department of Transportation selected demonstration projects in Arkansas,
Colorado, and New Hampshire.

10,500,000 10,427,089 72,911 Pennsylvania

Public Law 94- 280 (1976) (sect. 141)

House Report 94- 716

Everett by- pass (PA US 30). 24,160,282 23,693,917 466,365

Total $227,629,272 $213,032,365 $14,596,907

Note: Budget authority, obligations, and unobligated balances are rounded to
the nearest $1.00. Source: Adapted from information provided by the Federal
Highway Administration.

(542001)
*** End of document. ***