Value Engineering

This Value Engineering (VE) web site describes the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) external (grant reimbursement) VE program. It discusses many subjects (highlighted in the left margin) crucial to the administration of a viable VE program and attests to the program's success through yearly summary reports. The web site also discusses Frequently Asked Questions on VE and the Federal VE mandate.

The FHWA's VE program applies to its Federal-aid program under which the funds authorized in Federal-aid highway acts are distributed to States for projects developed and administered by State Departments of Transportation (DOT). This program is designed to:

• encourage State DOT's to use VE,
• assure those National Highway System projects greater than $25 million receive VE reviews,
• encompass a variety of VE activities focused on education and training, technical assistance, liaison with industry and States, promotional activities, and active participation in studies, and
• focus on training Federal, State, and local highway employees through the presentation of the National Highway Institute's VE workshop.

The FHWA also works with the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials' (AASHTO) Value Engineering Technical Committee to encourage and promote the use of VE by State DOT's. One such activity used by the FHWA is the presentation of State DOT awards for "Excellence in VE" at the biennial AASHTO VE Conference. The FHWA was instrumental in helping AASHTO develop its VE policy guide in 1987 and continues to promote and provide funding for AASHTO's biennial VE Conference.

In late 1995, Congress passed the National Highway System (NHS) Designation Act which included a provision requiring the Secretary to establish a program that would require States to carry out a VE analysis for all Federal-aid highway funded projects on the NHS with an estimated total cost of $25 million or more. On February 14, 1997, the FHWA published its VE regulation establishing such a program.