Highway Signs

Conversion to Metric Units Could Be Costly Gao ID: RCED-95-156 July 7, 1995

The Metric Conversion Act requires every federal agency to use the metric system in its procurement, grants, and other business- related activities. However, Congress passed legislation in 1994 and 1995 that prohibited federal funding for converting highway signs, such as those for speed limits, to metric units. As a result, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has postponed requiring states to implement the conversion. While implementation is on hold, FHWA has an opportunity to revisit the safety and cost implications of highway sign conversion to metric units. Canada's experience and Alabama's estimate provide the basis for developing ballpark national estimates to convert highway signs on state and local roads of $334 million and $420 million, respectively. FHWA is seeking to develop a more comprehensive, data-driven estimate for various conversion options. However, concern exists that little data may be available to estimate the cost of converting signs on local roadways. Moreover, it is unclear who is responsible for metric education and who will pay for it.

GAO found that: (1) in June 1994, FHwA announced that it was postponing the deadline for converting highway signs until at least after 1996 and as a result, most states have deferred their sign conversion activities; (2) FHwA postponed the conversion because recent legislative requirements have prohibited the use of federal-aid highway funds for this activity, and it received negative comments regarding the costs of the conversion; (3) since sign conversion remains a goal, FHwA is continuing with activities to support conversion, such as converting its manual on highway signs into English and metric units; (4) there is no comprehensive estimate of the costs to convert highway signs to metric units, but Alabama has determined that it would cost about $420 million to convert the signs in state and local roads; and (5) an FHwA contractor will be developing a comprehensive estimate, but there is concern that little data are available to estimate sign conversions on local roads, since inventories of local signs may not exist.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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