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OUTSOURCING DESIGN WORK ON TRANSPORTATION
PROJECTS INCREASES
COSTS AND THREATENS PUBLIC SAFETY, ACCORDING
TO REPORT
Highway Robbery II,
a new report from the National Association
of State Highway and Transportation Unions (NASHTU),
details a growing array of problems – high
costs, reduced project safety, and loss of
public accountability -- resulting from
state and local transportation agencies
outsourcing engineering, construction
inspection and project oversight on
federally funded transportation projects. A
copy of the report is
attached.
Key Highway Robbery II
findings include:
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Outsourcing of design, inspection, and
construction management by departments
of transportation – usually through no
bid contracts -- is significantly
more expensive than doing the work
in-house.
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Outsourcing inspection and oversight has
led to dangerous construction
defects, project delays, and overcharges.
Boston’s “Big Dig” is but one high
profile example. In July 2006, a “Big
Dig” tunnel collapsed killing a woman
and injuring her husband, substantially
increasing costs, and forcing several
lengthy closures.
-
Outsourcing in many states has become
part of a budgetary shell game in which
public engineers are cut and replaced by
consultants at higher cost. As a
result, states lose experienced staff,
fail to recruit and retain new
engineering and technical employees, and
lose the ability to appropriately
design, inspect and oversee
transportation projects.
To ensure that taxpayers receive safe, high
quality transportation services at the best
possible price, the report concludes with a
call to Congress to enact “accountability
in contracting” provisions requiring state
transportation departments to perform
cost-benefit studies before outsourcing
engineering work on federally funded
projects. States should also take steps to
hold private contractors accountable for the
cost and quality of their work, the report
adds.
Highway Robbery II
is an update of NASHTU’s highly regarded
Highway Robbery, published in
2002. The report was authored by David
Kusnet, a journalist and author whose work
has appeared in the New York Times,
Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and many
other publications. To discuss the report
with a representative in your state please
call Ted Toppin at 916/446-0584 or email
toppin@nashtu.us.
NASHTU represents 38
unions and associations from 20 states and
the District of Columbia representing
hundreds of thousands of state and local
transportation department employees. To
learn more about NASHTU, please visit our
website
www.nashtu.us.
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