U S Government Accountability Office

Federal-aid highways U S Government Accountability Office

" LCCA provides state transportation agencies with a tool to evaluate and select the most cost-effective type of pavement, one of the major cost components of many highway projects. Given the high demand for federal highway funding, the federal government has an acute interest in helping states use LCCA to make cost-effective decisions when investing federal-aid highway funds. Accordingly, it is important that FHWA's guidance on LCCA aligns with best practices. The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st GAO reviewed states' LCCA practices and interviewed officials from 16 states (visiting 4), selected to provide information on a wide range of LCCA approaches and a wide geographical distribution. Information gathered from these states is not generalizable to all states. GAO also interviewed FHWA officials. GAO assessed the extent to which FHWA's LCCA guidance, including software and documentation, conforms to best practices. Century Act directed GAO to review LCCA best practices. GAO (1) described how state transportation agencies conduct and use LCCA and (2) assessed the extent to which FHWA's LCCA guidance conforms to the GAO Cost Guide's cost-estimating best practices. "