Outsourcing of State Highway Facilities and Services

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Synthesis 246: Outsourcing of State Highway Facilities and Services presents information on the current outsourcing practices of state departments of transportation with regard to the transfer or placement of work that might previously have been done by state staff, to contractors or consultants. It will be of interest to transportation agency administrators, financial managers, functional area managers, and others who are concerned with the productivity and financial management of state transportation agencies. It will also be of interest to contractors and consultants, as well as to other state agency administrators and legislators. This report of the Transportation Research Board discusses the current outsourcing practices used by state transportation departments in several functional areas: professional design services, right-of-way acquisition, construction, operations and maintenance, and training and other human resources activities. The policies and decision-making practices related to outsourcing, including the methods for determining feasibility and the impediments to outsourcing are discussed. The synthesis also presents evaluative information on the cost- effectiveness of outsourcing, as well as the benefits that are derived, and the problems that have been identified by the agencies. The issues and practices related to public-private partnerships are also discussed.