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YELLOW SHEET Office of the State Auditor of Missouri |
September 18, 2001
Report No. 2001-86
The
following conditions were reported related to an audit conducted by our office
of the Missouri Department of Transportation 5-Year Road and Bridge Program.
Our
audit of the 5-Year Plans of the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) disclosed
that more accountability over the plans is needed.� MoDOT has not established�
a performance-based management system with goals or performance measures
used in developing the 5-Year Plans that would determine the progress towards improving
the state�s highway system.� Therefore,
the awarding and/or completion of projects on the 5-Year Plans does not clearly
correlate to any pre-established goals.�
In addition, the department does not formally compare and report on a summarized
basis the projects programmed for award to those actually awarded annually.
In a response to the audit, MoDOT indicated it
continually seeks ways to improve its accountability and its reporting
mechanisms.� �MoDOT indicated the department has developed both system goals and
performance measures to guide the direction of the department and the Missouri
Highway and Transportation Commission formally adopted the goals in June
2001.� The goals cited by MoDOT in its
response included: �ensure safety and
security, relieve congestion, facilitate the efficient movement of goods, and
enhance the quality of our communities.�
Some of the measures cited included: number of projects awarded vs.
programmed projects, cost of awarded projects vs. programmed costs, and
projects completed by month, quarter, and year.
In
a comment to MoDOT�s response, we commended MoDOT for its recognition of the
need to develop goals and performance measures to improve its accountability
and reporting mechanisms.�� However, we
noted the goals cited in MoDOT�s response cannot be easily quantified and the
measures established by the department appear to be elements of a project
management system instead of measures to monitor the overall improvement in the
quality of the state�s highway system.� We
believe additional goals/measures that can be quantified and measure the
overall condition of the highway system would enhance the department�s system
of accountability.�� For example,
establishing goals such as achieving a specified percent of roadways on the
National Highway System as being rated good or better or a specified percent of
state owned bridges being rated good or better, and then monitoring the
progress toward the attainment of those goals, would allow MoDOT to determine
whether progress was being made toward improving the highway system.
Background Information
�
In 1992, the Missouri
Department of Transportation adopted a 15-Year (1992-2007) Road and Bridge
Program (15-Year Plan).
�
The State Auditor�s
review of the 15-Year Plan, issued in October 1997, disclosed the department
did not adequately monitor progress on the plan.� Among other things, the �department did not track the plan�s actual construction costs by
project or periodically compare the original estimated costs to actual costs
incurred and did not consider inflation in its cost estimates when developing
the plan.�
�
In November 1998, the
department concluded that the initial cost estimates for the 15-Year Plan were
substantially understated and the underlying assumptions were not correct, and
it was not possible under any reasonable assumptions, for the department to
complete the 15-Year Plan with currently anticipated revenues.� The 15-Year Plan was replace with the 5-Year
Plan.� The 5-Year Plan is a rolling
plan, in that as each year of the plan is completed, a new year is added.���
Since
our review of the 15-Year Plan in 1997, the State Auditor�s office has noted
improvement in the department�s monitoring and oversight of its road and bridge
program; however, as noted above, further improvements are needed.
