United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1997-07-17 monographic deposited born digital 40 p. GA 1.13:RCED-97-170 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-RCED-97-170 P0b002ee180378097 f:rc97170 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-28 GAOREPORTS-RCED-97-170 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-RCED-97-170 RCED-97-170 Federal aid for highways Public roads or highways Highway planning Road construction Cost control Cost sharing (finance) Municipal bonds Intergovernmental fiscal relations Future budget projections Workers compensation Central Artery/Tunnel Project (Boston, MA) Interstate Highway System Logan International Airport (Boston, MA) Massachusetts Boston (MA) Letter Report RCED Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO evaluated: (1) the estimated cost of the Central Artery/Tunnel project in Boston, Massachusetts; and (2) Massachusetts' plans for financing the project.<p/>GAO noted that: (1) as of March 1997, Massachusetts had estimated that the total cost of the Central Artery/Tunnel project was $10.8 billion--$400 million more than the $10.4-billion estimate contained in its September 1996 finance plan; (2) this increase occurred primarily because of growth in the project's estimated construction costs; (3) costs actually increased by more than $400 million, but the state assumed in its $10.8-billion cost estimate that the increases would be partly offset by savings, primarily from the project's owner-controlled insurance program; (4) however, the state also assumed that most of these insurance savings, $778 million, would not be realized until 2017, long after construction is completed; (5) as a result, the project's total funding needs through 2004, when the project is scheduled to be completed, are $11.6 billion--$778 million more than the project's $10.8- billion cost estimate, (6) furthermore, uncertainties exist about whether the savings projected by the state in the insurance program will be achieved; (7) the state's $10.8-billion cost estimate also depends on achieving the aggressive cost containment goals established for the project; (8) while the state has made some progress in its cost containment program, officials acknowledge that it has some ambitious goals that will be difficult to meet; (9) Massachusetts has implemented a plan to finance its share of the project's cost, including a strategy to finance funding shortfalls; (10) furthermore, funding shortfalls could be an additional $100 million to $500 million more if the state does not meet its cost containment; (11) to finance the shortfalls, the state plans to borrow $1.7 billion through a combination of revenue bonds issued by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and grant anticipation notes, as authorized by legislation passed in 1997; (12) however, this plan may be insufficient to meet the project's financing needs because it substantially covers the funding shortfalls only under the best-case scenario modeled in the feasibility study; (13) in addition, while the financial markets will decide whether the use of grant anticipation notes is feasible, uncertainties exist about the use these notes because the amount proposed by Massachusetts is unprecedented and relies on borrowing against federal funds that may not be authorized by the Congress until after the next federal highway authorization expires, sometime around 2003; and (14) the state imposed additional limits on itself to constrain the growth of state debt in order to improve its credit ratings. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-97-170/html/GAOREPORTS-RCED-97-170.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-97-170/pdf/GAOREPORTS-RCED-97-170.pdf GAO/RCED-97-170 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-RCED-97-170 Letter Report GAO/RCED-97-170; Transportation Infrastructure: Progress On and Challenges to Central Artery/Tunnel Project's Costs and Financing; Federal aid for highways Public roads or highways Highway planning Road construction Cost control Cost sharing (finance) Municipal bonds Intergovernmental fiscal relations Future budget projections Workers compensation Central Artery/Tunnel Project (Boston, MA) Interstate Highway System Logan International Airport (Boston, MA) Massachusetts Boston (MA)