Project Management Oversight
FTA's Project Management Oversight program monitors the management of FTA-supported major capital projects to determine whether the projects:
- are on time,
- within budget,
- in conformance with design and quality criteria,
- in compliance with all applicable Federal requirements, and
- constructed to approved plans and specifications, delivering the identified benefits, and safely, efficiently and effectively.
Oversight begins early in project development. FTA staff and Project Management Oversight (PMO) contractors evaluate grant recipient project management and technical capacity to successfully implement major federally supported transit projects. They also monitor projects to determine whether they are progressing on time, within budget, and in accord with approved grantee plans and specifications.
What's New
- In March 2022, FTA released a new resource on Utility Relocation Challenges and Proposed Solutions. Utility relocations are often critical risks on transit projects for both cost and schedule. Within highly developed alignments, utility relocation can become the primary driver of project success. Handling this risk within the real-world of project constraints is daunting, even for those experienced in project management, design, and construction. This Utility Relocation resource is based on six study projects and offers practical advice for managing the data acquisition, data management, stakeholder partnering, design documents, project contracting, and tools for project data management when dealing with utility relocations.
- On September 23, 2020, FTA announced a final rule amending regulations for Project Management Oversight of transit capital investments, streamlining the regulation by reducing the number of projects subject to oversight and modifying the regulation to make it consistent with statutory changes.
Technical Assistance
With over 30 years of experience successfully delivering major capital projects, FTA has developed tools and resources to assist project sponsors.
- Utility Relocation Challenges and Proposed Solutions
- Cost Estimation for FTA-Funded Transit Projects
- Capital Cost Database
- FTA Quality Management System Guidelines
- FTA Project and Construction Management Guidelines
- Construction Project Management Handbook
- FTA's Lessons Learned program, developed with the assistance of FTA Project Management Oversight Program contractors, transit agencies and FTA regional engineers, is intended to increase the effectiveness of transit capital expenditures through shared experience and lessons learned on major capital transit projects. Each lesson provides a detailed account of an agency's experience managing an aspect of a New Starts or Small Starts-funded transit program.
Project Management Oversight (PMO) Reviews
FTA conducts PMO reviews for major capital projects to ensure that the project sponsors, or recipients, have all the processes and procedures in place to effectively manage and deliver the promised benefits of the project on time, within budget, and in compliance with all applicable federal requirements and the project management plan. FTA's Oversight Procedures (OPs) provide a consistent guidance for the PMO reviews, including the review process, deliverables and reporting requirements.
FRA/FTA Multimodal-Funded Projects
The FRA-FTA Project Management Oversight and Engineering SOP outlines Federal agency staff roles and responsibilities in performing engineering reviews and project management oversight of multimodal-funded projects, including the process to identify a Lead Federal Oversight Agency. FRA and FTA grant recipients will benefit from a coordinated approach to simplify processes and eliminate duplicative, agency-specific requirements. The procedures are intended to supplement existing resources, such as DOT, FRA, and FTA regulations, circulars, grant agreements, and other guidance, and are not intended to establish new or modify existing requirements for Project Sponsors.