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The National Association of State Highway and Transportation Unions (NASHTU) is dedicated to ensuring that federal transportation dollars are spent on cost-effective, safe projects that serve the public interest. NASHTU is comprised of 38 unions and associations representing hundreds of thousands of state and locally employed transportation engineers, construction managers and inspectors, technical workers and related public servants from throughout the United States.

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U.S. DOT Secretary Attends NASHTU Conference

The 24th Annual NASHTU Conference was a resounding success, attracting more attendees than in recent years and attracting high-profile speakers, including U.S. DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg.  The conference was held June 3-5, 2024 in Washington D.C.

The Annual NASHTU Conferences are a chance for transportation unions to come together and strategize on federal and state issues of mutual concern, including outsourcing, transportation funding, and worker safety issues.

NASHTU attendees also heard from transportation and labor leaders throughout the conference.  Another conference highlight was a presentation from NTSB’s Director of Highway Safety, Dr. Robert Molloy.  His presentation focused on the many outsourcing failures that led to the collapse of a pedestrian bridge under construction at Florida International University in 2018.

NASHTU will once again be hosting a free, virtual two-hour conference this fall.  Dates are still to be determined but will be announced soon.


NASHTU Notes

September 9, 2024

Report: Understaffed DOTs Lead to Higher Construction Costs

A team of academic researchers found that the U.S. overspends for highway infrastructure and identified understaffed DOTs and an overreliance on consultants as the primary reasons for higher costs.  Their report was summarized in a recent article in Construction Dive, an industry publication.

According to the report, Procurement and Infrastructure Costs, state and local governments expended $266 billion on highways alone in 2022, and on a per-project basis, that spending is over three times as high as other upper- and middle-income countries.  In exploring why the costs are higher, three researchers – Zachary Liscow of Yale University, Will Nober of Columbia University, and Cailin Slattery of the University of California, Berkeley – surveyed infrastructure procurement practices, talked to state DOT employees and construction companies, and analyzed project-level data across the country.

The report concludes that better staffed DOTs lead to lower overall costs for transportation infrastructure.  Unfortunately, the “striking decrease in state DOT employment over the last 20 years, especially in the wake of the Great Recession,” has caused DOTs to have to do more with less and rely on overpriced consultants, which has led to higher costs to build highway infrastructure.

Specifically, the researchers found a one standard deviation increase in consultant costs is associated with an almost 20%, or $70,000, increase in cost per lane-mile.  States with higher DOT employment per capita have lower infrastructure costs.  For example, a one standard deviation increase in DOT employment per capita is correlated with 16% lower costs.

To read the article in Construction Dive, click here.

To download and read the full report, Procurement and Infrastructure Costs, click here.