Since 2008, GAO has highlighted the need to demonstrate the outcomes of the billions of dollars
the Department of Transportation (DOT) provides to states and other grantees for surface
transportation programs. MAP-21 included provisions for DOT and its grantees to move toward a
performance-based approach, transforming federal surface transportation programs by holding
states and other grantees accountable for results, in many cases for the first time.
GAO was asked to review DOT’s implementation of TPM. This report focuses on FHWA, which
administers the largest grant program of the three DOT agencies involved, and (1) examines
the progress made in developing rules to establish a national performance-based approach
and (2) evaluates how FHWA is guiding the transition to TPM, among other objectives. GAO
reviewed proposed and final rules and information on rulemaking activities and interviewed
FHWA officials, national transportation organizations, and a non-generalizable sample of 10
state departments of transportation, among others. States were selected based on factors such
as geographic distribution, population, and urban and rural characteristics.
Find the full report here