DOT and GAO Testify on U.S. Efforts to Fix Highway Bridges at House Hearing
The House Transit and Infrastructure's Subcommittee on Highways and Transit conducted a hearing on July 21, 2010 regarding oversight by the Federal Highway Administration of the Federal Highway Bridge Program (HBP) and the National Bridge Inspection Program. Among others, the Subcommittee heard testimony from the Department of Transportation's Inspector General (IG) for FHWA and the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The hearing was part of the Subcommittee’s effort to prepare for the reauthorization of Federal surface transportation programs under the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU).
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The IG stated that according to FHWA, about one-quarter of the Nation’s more than 600,000 bridges have major deterioration, cracks in their structural components, or other deficiencies. FHWA has estimated that approximately $100 billion would be needed to address current bridge deficiencies and make other improvements. The IG focused on FHWA's efforts to date to (1) implement a data-driven, risk-based approach to overseeing the Nation's bridges, (2) ensure that states comply with bridge inspection standards, and (3) strengthen its oversight of states' use of Federal bridge funding.
According to the GAO, the impact of the federal investment in the HBP is difficult to measure, in part because there are no comprehensive and complementary data for state and local bridge spending. The lack of comprehensive information on state and local spending makes it impossible to (1) distinguish the impact of HBP funding from other funding to improve bridge conditions and (2) determine the extent to which states may be substituting increased HBP funding for state and local funds that they would otherwise have spent on bridges. Evaluating the impact of the HBP is important not only to understand the outcome of past spending but also to determine how to sensibly invest future federal resources.