Semi-Annual Reports to WSDOT

Washington Division Semi-Annual Project Delivery Report
Fiscal Year 2007 Quarter 3 (April-June) Issue II, Volume I, August 24, 2007

Introduction

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Washington Division has developed the following Project Delivery Report which highlights some of the broad array of activities / initiatives / approvals we perform to assist the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and local agencies in delivering projects.

Presented below and herein are charts / graphs of project delivery measures. Additional charts / graphs will be added in future reports as new data is gathered for supplemental measures. On the last page we highlight other project delivery challenges.

We will continue to add to / revise the performance measures for future reporting and welcome any suggestions. Our goal is to continue to set the standard for excellence in FHWA in project delivery.

This chart shows the timeliness of approval of authorizations for preliminary engineering, right-of-way, and construction pro-jets using federal-aid funds submitted to the Washington Division office since 1999. Significant progress has been made in the timeliness of approving projects since 2000. Our goal is to approve 90% of all authorizations / modifications within five (5) working days of receipt.

Timeliness of Authorizations / Modifications

This table reflects the number of authorizations / modifications approved within certain timeframes since 1999. In federal fiscal year (FFY) 2007 our approval has slipped to 85% (1063/1253). This is attributed to the substantial turnover and movement of personnel in the office. As noted previously our goal is to approve 90% of all authorizations within five (5) business days. (Note: the FFY be-gins on October 1 and ends on September 30 of the following year.)

This chart shows the timeliness of approval of documented categorical exclusions (DCEs) by quarter for FFY 2007. As the chart depicts, we significantly reduced the approval time of DCEs in the 16+ day timeframe between the 2nd and 3rd quarters.

This chart shows the timeliness of approval for emergency relief (ER) damage inspection reports. Our goal is to approve 90% of these reports within 10 working days of receipt.

This chart shows the timeliness of approval for right-of-way (R/W) certifications 3 (approval of certifications 1 and 2 has been delegated to WSDOT). In order to authorize the advertisement of a project for construction, the State must certify the R/W has been cleared, per 23 CFR 635.309. A certification 3 means there are some parcels where rights have not been obtained and there may be some displacees remaining. Certification 3s are to be used infrequently. Our goal is to approve 90% of certification 3s within 10 working days of receipt.

Endangered species act (SA) formal consultation data

These charts show the formal timeframes from 2001 - 2006 or endangered species act (ESA) consultations for the US Fish & Wildlife Service ((USF&WS)) and the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)–Fisheries Service beginning with consultations in April 2001. Each diamond point represents the number of days needed for completion of a formal consultation for a specific project. Formal consultation is entered into when a project is determined "likely to adversely affect" a listed endangered species (some of the most encountered on projects are chinook, coho, sockeye, and chum salmon; bull trout; bald eagles, and marbled murrelets). Formal consultations are required to be completed with 135 days (90 days for consultation and 45 days to prepare a biological opinion (BO)). The expected listing of Puget Sound steelhead in September 2007 will add to the challenge.