Target Completion Date: June 29, 2014 Environment, Planning, and Economics
Transportation departments conduct preliminary engineering (PE)—the development of a project’s physical plan, design, scope, cost estimate, and financial plan—prior to right of way acquisition and construction.
Transportation departments must balance PE spending with spending on other phases: too much PE money means insufficient funds for construction this year; too little PE money means not enough projects are prepared for construction in future fiscal years. Complications arise because of changing project development timeframes and variations in PE funding by project type and location.
This study will: define PE; examine PE spending (compared to construction spending and right of way spending) in other states’ transportation programs; examine Virginia spending over a period of years to determine how Virginia compares to practices elsewhere; and as appropriate, document best practices for allocating PE funds.
Last updated: July 5, 2023