1

Construction Engineering in State Highway Projects

Legislative Audit Bureau

September 2009

2

Overview

Construction contractors construct highways and test construction materials.

Construction engineers oversee contractors, review and verify contractors’ tests, and perform their own tests of materials.

3

Expenditures

DOT’s FY 2007-08 construction engineering expenditures:

State staff $20.8 million

Consultants $36.0 million

Total $56.8 million

4

Use of Consultants

Consultant expenditures as a percentage of total construction engineering expenditures:

Fiscal Year

2003-04 60.7%

2004-05 65.0%

2005-06 67.5%

2006-07 70.0%

2007-08 63.4%

5

Cost Benefit Analyses

DOT completed 214 cost-benefit analyses from March 2007 through June 2008:- 125 indicated DOT staff could complete the

work at a lower cost than consultants- 84 indicated consultants could complete the

work at a lower cost than DOT- 5 indicated DOT staff did not have the

expertise for the projectsDOT hired consultants in all 214 instances.

6

Concrete Pavement Thickness

7

Concrete Pavement Roughness

We reviewed the documentation of roughness measurements taken on 28 state highway projects:

- 19 projects were appropriately exempted from measurement

- 9 projects had complete documentation

8

Materials Testing

On 20 highway projects we reviewed:

- 158 of 432 required tests (36.6 percent) on concrete and related materials were not documented electronically

- No additional documentation existed in the projects’ paper files

9

Materials Testing

Consultant construction engineers documented 64 percent of the required tests on 10 projects they led.

DOT construction engineers documented 62 percent of the required tests on 10 projects they led.

10

Future Considerations

Wisconsin is expected to receive $529.1 million in federal transportation funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

In order to complete projects paid for with stimulus funds, the optimal mix of state staff and consultants will need to be determined.

11

Construction Engineering in State Highway Projects

Legislative Audit Bureau

September 2009