Federal and state transportation officials met recently in Seattle at the National Fraud Awareness Conference to discuss what they can do to prevent fiscal abuse as it relates to highway construction.

Federal Highway Administration Administrator Mary Peters said fraud has been a concern ever since the inception of the Interstate Highway Program in 1956, which lead to the creation of an FHWA auditing office and eventually the Office of the Inspector General.

She said the FHWA, the IRS, and the OIG are attempting to recover an estimated $1 billion that firms and individuals avoided paying in fuel taxes in 2001.

Projects of a grander scale are also a concern, Peter said, noting that much was learned by the management failures at Boston's Central Artery and Tunnel Project. Current law requires projects with a price tag of $1 billion or more to submit a detailed financial and project plan to the U.S. Transportation Secretary for approval.

Meanwhile, in its reauthorization proposal, the administration is asking agencies receiving $100 million or more to prepare financial plans in case their projects come under scrutiny.

Speakers also included Inspector General Ken Mead of the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General. Representing the American Association of State highway and Transportation Officials were AASHTO President John Njord ‑executive director of the Utah Department of Transportation; John Horsley, AASHTO executive director; and Jack Basso, AASHTO director of management and business development.

Njord reaffirmed AASHTO's commitment to oversight and fraud prevention. In his remarks, he cited the role of FHWA and the states to assure the public trust is well maintained. He also announced the completion of AASHTO's Project Oversight Task Force report citing the recommendations on fraud prevention.