Re: Past head of VDOT advocates downsizing 50%

John Lansford <jlnsford@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> "Larry Gross" <gross.larry@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> >We've had two local roads built in the last 18 months. They
> >were 2 miles each. They were promised in 18 months.
> >They both were delivered on time and on budget without
> >excuses for weather, coordination issues, materials availability,
> >
> >They were built by private entities who engaged multiple
> >sub-contractors to build those projects.
>
> New location? Traffic issues? Environmental issues? Right of way?
> Utilities? Wetlands? What standards were used? Pavement design? Any
> bridges involved? Widening or all new work?
>
> See, you throw out a cherry picked example as how it ought to work
> without going into the details.

There is one project that fits his description, 2.3 miles of
Spotsylvania Parkway. It was built by a developer to provide vital
access to a new huge development, so the developer had a direct
financial interest in building the highway project quickly.

VDOT's Cowan Boulevard project was completed recently, a mile and a half
of 4-lane divided highway in Fredericksburg, similar to the design of
the above project, and built for the same cost per mile, albeit about 12
months behind schedule.

VDOT's portion of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge project is about $300
million in roadway and interchange reconstruction projects, and it is
on-budget and on-schedule (as are Maryland's WWB projects). Projects of
that magnitude cross municipal boundaries and are far beyond the
capability of local governments.

I've been following the VDOT Internet Dashboard since it was implemented
3 years ago, and the progress has been slow but steady. Today 72% of
the 117 active highway projects are on-budget, 15% are between 3% and 9%
over budget, and 13% are 10% or more over budget. 54% of the active
highway projects are on-schedule, 12% are between 1% and 9% behind
schedule, and 34% are 10% or more behind schedule. Budget IMO is the
more important metric, and arguably the amount of excessively rainy
weather in most of the state in 2003 and 2004 has significantly impaired
the schedule metric.

No other state DOT has had the gumption to post an Internet Dashboard,
so we really don't know what their overall performance is with regard to
budget and schedule on highway projects.

--
Scott M. Kozel Highway and Transportation History Websites
Virginia/Maryland/Washington, D.C. http://www.roadstothefuture.com
Philadelphia and Delaware Valley http://www.pennways.com
.

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