Washington State Department of Transportation Audit Response - January 2008

STATE OF WASHINGTON January 4, 2008 The Honorable Brian Sonntag Washington State Auditor P.O. Box 40021 Olympia, WA 98504-0021 Dear Auditor Sonntag: Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the Construction Management/Highway Maintenance Performance Audit. We reviewed the report and have provided our formal response in the attached document. Like Governor Gregoire, we are committed to performance accountability. Since 2001, the Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has reported quarterly on agency and transportation system performance. We use these performance results to take action and make improvements within existing resources. We appreciate the acknowledgment of our maintenance employees’ commitment to continuous improvement and our program’s status as a national leader. We also thank you for acknowledging the successful groundwork established through the agency’s Strategic Program Management Group in improving construction project management. The audit’s recognition of the need for additional investment in highway maintenance is helpful, and consistent with our response to the performance audit on congestion issued in October 2007. Our response highlighted the importance and priority of maintaining and preserving our state transportation infrastructure. We have developed an action plan that addresses the audit issues and recommendations. Progress on our action plan will be tracked at the Governor’s Government ...