Capital District Transportation Authority

Capital Construction Management Practices

The Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA) provides transportation services in a four-county area. In 1997, CDTA initiated the construction of a new Amtrak rail station in Rensselaer to replace the existing facility. We examined CDTA’s management of this project and identified several weaknesses. We found that CDTA lacked experience managing projects of this nature and did not develop adequate business systems to support the project. For example, CDTA’s accounting system could not compare the project’s budgeted costs to its actual costs. We also determined that numerous change orders delayed construction and contributed to large cost overruns. We further determined that CDTA, which did not develop a marketing plan for the new station, had yet to secure a number of needed tenants for the station, including Amtrak. At the conclusion of our audit, the project was more than two years behind schedule and more than $19 million over budget. We recommended improvements that would assist CDTA in the management of future construction projects.

For a complete copy of Report 2001-S-48 click here.
For a copy of the 90-day response click here.
For a copy of the associated follow-up report click here.