Reforming State Transportation Policy:
Washington State’s Efforts to Implement
Performance-Based Policies
September 2008
The Heritage Foundation recently published a study by Michael Ennis, director of WPC's Center for Transportation.
Key Findings
• Across the country, transportation spending decisions are too often tied to political agendas and the wishes of influential constituencies, not objective measures of public need, such as safety and congestion relief.
• In 2005, voters in Washington State passed an
initiative authorizing the State Auditor’s Office
to conduct independent performance audits
on several major aspects of the state’s transportation
system. The findings of these audits
could potentially trigger a seismic shift in how
state and local governments do business.
• In 2007 and 2008, the Washington State Auditor’s Office independently audited four facets of state transportation operations, uncovering $110 million in potential cost savings. The congestion audit estimated that implementing the recommendations on reducing traffic congestion would produce $3 billion in economic benefits.
• Since the Washington audits, officials in Virginia, Idaho, and Hawaii have considered or adopted similar assessments.
Read or download the study here (pdf)
