Houston Area Loses $64 Million in Federal Transportation Funds Due to Delays and Lack of Oversight

The Houston region lost $64 million in federal "use-it-or-lose-it" transportation funding last year, reports Dug Begley, due to delays and "lax oversight" of proposed projects. "Roughly $45 million in congestion mitigation and air quality funds and $19 million in transportation alternatives money was forfeited because it was not spent within the prescribed time on eligible projects, according to state and local officials." The funding was either not attached to specific projects, or the projects it was slated for were pushed to a later year, said TxDOT officials.

"[T]he region lost the money because no one was making sure it was getting spent on time, leading to a backlog of committed money that has yet to go to construction," said Catherine McCreight, senior transportation planner for TxDOT's Houston office. "Losing federal money this way is a first for the region in more than a decade, as the area’s rapid growth typically has meant there are enough projects to redirect money to if needed," but a lack of oversight meant many projects got delayed.

"The Houston area has a 25-year, $75 billion plan filled with ways to spend the money. What it lacks, officials said, are ready projects that can use the money right now in a way that conforms with state and federal rules when other projects hit a hurdle."

McCreight said the loss deals a blow to projects still on the books and sends "a message to the feds that we didn’t need that amount of money," which is not the case. "What Houston lacks, or does not have established processes for, are benchmarks so when projects are delayed it does not jeopardize funding." 

To keep projects on track, "regional transportation officials are likely to approve a replacement of the lost money with other federal funds," but those programs also come with deadlines.

Officials predict that to prevent the same issue in the future, "H-GAC [Houston-Galveston Area Council] will set policies requiring projects to meet a criteria for readiness before they are put in the pipeline for new money."