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Highway Signs: Conversion to Metric Units Could Be Costly

RCED-95-156 Published: Jul 07, 1995. Publicly Released: Jul 14, 1995.
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Highlights

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Federal Highway Administration's (FHwA) metric conversion plan, focusing on the: (1) status of federal and states' efforts to convert highway signs to metric units; and (2) possible costs involved in implementing the conversion.

Recommendations

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Transportation The Secretary of Transportation should direct the Administrator, FHwA, to expand the national cost estimate study to include the potential costs of educating the public about converting highway signs to metric units.
Closed – Not Implemented
The agency has completed the national cost estimate study and did not include the potential costs of educating the public about converting highway signs to metric units, as GAO recommended.

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Topics

Transportation
Agency missionsCost analysisFederal aid for highwaysstate relationsHighway planningMetric conversionPublic relationsPublic roads or highwaysRural roadsSecondary roadsState highwaysSigns and signboards