The Department of Transportation has released a long-secret list of its most overdue and over-budget projects, revealing billions of dollars in taxpayer money committed to projects that can’t seem to get across the finish line.
The list includes an interstate redesign in Columbus, Ohio, which is running nearly 20 years behind schedule and double the initial cost, and California’s much-maligned high-speed rail, whose costs have tripled.
Maryland’s Purple Line light rail also made the list, at double the initial cost and at least six years behind schedule.
Those and the other projects, 15 in total, account for more than $12 billion in federal taxpayer money committed to assist state and local officials who have struggled to complete the airport, roadway and railway improvements.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy provided the list to Congress, and Sen. Joni Ernst, Iowa Republican, made it public Wednesday. She said she wants to expose some of the biggest black eyes for the central planners in government.
“Going a billion dollars over budget isn’t a rounding error; it’s a financial train wreck. Likewise, being five years behind schedule isn’t just losing track of time; it’s a derailment,” said Ms. Ernst, who wrote the law requiring the reports.
The first report was due in 2022. The Biden administration never delivered, but the Trump administration did. Mr. Duffy provided the information to Congress in early June.
“If you’re receiving taxpayer dollars, you should expect to be held accountable by the American people. No more boondoggles!” the secretary said in a statement to The Washington Times. “Thank you, Senator Ernst, for your leadership in Congress to ensure federal dollars are being used effectively and efficiently.”
Mr. Duffy has moved to cancel the California high-speed train. The Federal Railroad Administration said repeated missed deadlines and bungled budgeting have sapped confidence that the state can do it.
In the report, the department said it had been funding two phases of the rail project, and both were running 11 years behind schedule and $13 billion over the initial projection.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has sued to try to keep the federal funds flowing.
Also on the list are upgrades to rail service between Chicago and St. Louis, fixes to passenger rail around New York City, a 20-mile railway in Hawaii, the Transbay Tube railway in California’s Bay Area, improvements to interstate junctures in Council Bluffs, Iowa, fixes to Interstate 295 in Camden, New Jersey, and the Columbus Crossroads and Maryland’s Purple Line projects.
The Purple Line was supposed to cost $2.4 billion and begin service in 2022. However, the department’s data shows that it is now pegged at $5.5 billion, putting it $3.1 billion over budget. The current completion date is 2027.
Uncle Sam has pledged $1 billion to the project.
The Columbus Crossroads is the most delayed, at 19 years behind schedule, but the California, Hawaii and Chicago-St. Louis rail projects are each at least a decade behind, as are the fixes to the interstate in Camden.
The Transportation Department said the pandemic, difficulty acquiring land and supply chain snafus caused delays and broken budgets.
Transportation officials said the Council Bluffs project might not qualify as a delay. The department said a midproject redesign expanded the scope of construction.
Ms. Ernst cheered the report’s release but said it was somewhat lacking, particularly for having taken 2½ years to deliver.
The one-page chart is illegible when printed on a standard page and must be viewed online at significant magnification on the screen.
Ms. Ernst’s office said it also omitted some “well-known boondoggles.”
However, the senator said what was included was enough to provide new targets for Congress and President Trump’s team at the Department of Government Efficiency.
“Simply having a list of troubled projects allows us to begin the process of holding each accountable,” Ms. Ernst said.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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