State DOTs have established processes, with varying degrees of complexity, to manage their annual highway letting program and deliver projects of high quality. These processes include tools and techniques used to schedule and award transportation projects in conformance with established criteria (e.g., funding type, funding levels, geographic distributions, quantity of projects available for letting). State DOTs share many common concerns in the management of their statewide highway letting programs. The management of highway program lettings is a critical component of successful project delivery and the achievement of MPO, state, and national goals. These activities are often conducted within a single agency or state, with little to no sharing of information and data among DOTs. However, the potential for information sharing and technology transfer among DOTs is very promising. This synthesis will identify the processes currently used by state DOTs for highway letting program management. Items of particular interest are: · Breadth and Variation of Program Management Structures (e.g., state DOT policies, procedures, and practices). · Dealing with Change (Volatility): · Type and source of change (e.g. a significant change in annual funding level, a change in policy direction); · Magnitude and impact of change; and · Methods used by DOTs to address and resolve change. · Data Sharing: · Interest in and plans for sharing data warehousing information (e.g., Trns port DSS) among state DOTs. This synthesis of practice may establish a foundation for information and data sharing to facilitate and accelerate improvements in DOT highway letting program management. (Author/publisher) This report may be accessed by Internet users at http://www.trb.org/publications/nchrp/nchrp_syn_331.pdf
Abstract