**GAO-03-338R**                      Published: Jan 16, 2003. Publicly Released: Feb 19, 2003.                  

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## Highlights

Environmental reviews of complex federally funded highway construction projects may take years. The Congress has an interest in identifying and, if necessary, addressing the reasons to expedite highway projects. To better understand these reasons, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) surveyed its 55 division offices to determine why the environmental review of certain highway projects took more than 5 years. The Chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure requested that we determine (1) the reasonableness of FHWA's survey methodology and offer suggestions for improvement, if appropriate, and (2) the feasibility of resurveying the same projects to gain an additional understanding about why environmental reviews took more than 5 years. To carry out this work, we interviewed FHWA officials about how they selected projects, surveyed their division offices, and analyzed the responses they obtained. In addition, we applied the lessons learned from FHWA's original approach to assess the feasibility of resurveying the same projects.

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## Topics

Natural Resources and Environment

Environmental impact statementsFederal aid for highwaysHighway researchProgram evaluationSurveysEnvironmental monitoringEnvironmental reviewHighway projectsExplorationTransportation