Audit of Federal Highway Job Overruns Worries Engineers
An ongoing U.S. Dept. of Labor probe into how well states are recovering budget overruns on big federally funded transportation projects has engineering firms worried that design errors and omissions may become the primary cost culprit.
Company executives at the annual meeting earlier this month of the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) in Colorado Springs, Colo., noted the audit of four states by DOTs Office of the Inspector General, which began last October. Many speculated it is an outgrowth of agency concern over big cost overruns on the $14.6-billion Central Artery/Project in Boston.