Highway Projects: Extent of Projects with Unobligated Balances of Greater Than 85 Percent as of August 16, 2002

Congress has provided funding for numerous highway demonstration projects in legislation authorizing surface transportation programs as well as annual appropriations acts for the Department of Transportation (DOT). In some cases, the projects are identified in the legislation itself, and in others they are identified in committee reports accompanying the legislation. These projects are generally designated for specific locations within states and for specific purposes, and the funds made available for them generally remain available until expended. As of August 16, 2002, there were 42 highway demonstration projects authorized prior to the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) with obligations of less than 15 percent of their total funding amount. For nine of the 42 projects, there are no plans to obligate most of the approved funds by September 30, 2004. These nine projects account for $19.4 million in unobligated funds. Three of the projects have been completed or dropped by the city or state. For the remaining six projects, state and local officials intend to request federal legislation to revise the project description or make the funds available for other projects.