U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration

MEMORANDUM

The FHWA's role in construction program management has continued to change over the years. Our evolving Federal/State relationship, as well as legislative changes and increased program size, have redefined the processes and procedures the FHWA uses to manage and oversee the Federal-aid construction program. The FHWA must continue to meet its responsibility for providing construction oversight and program accountability, while also providing leadership and value-added support in delivering new technology and improvements to enhance the program.

This year the Office of Infrastructure has undertaken several initiatives to facilitate FHWA's construction stewardship and oversight activities. Attached, please find two copies of the "Construction Program Management and Inspection Guide." This guide was developed based on recommendations from the Construction Quality and Improvement Team, and is intended to be a technical resource to assist the field engineers in the management and oversight of the construction program, with an emphasis on construction field inspection techniques.

To supplement the guide, we have also established a team comprised of Headquarters and field personnel to facilitate a short workshop to field offices upon request (see attached list of team members). The workshop is intended to be a refresher for veteran employees while providing newer employees with the technical elements and details for performing effective construction oversight. The workshops will be targeted primarily at our FHWA field engineering staff, but involvement by our State partners and other relevant stakeholders is highly encouraged. These workshops will be available in the fall of 2004 and the goal is to deliver at least one workshop to every Division within the next few years.

For additional copies of the guide contact Ken Jacoby at (202) 366-6503. For more information about the workshops, contact Jeff Lewis at (916) 498-5035 or Rob Elliott at (404) 562-3941.

3 Attachments

Construction Stewardship and Oversight Training Team

* Co-Team Leaders