This bill amends title 23 to add new requirements for megaprojects—transportation projects with estimated total costs of $2.5 billion or more—by imposing a formal risk-management framework, independent peer review, and enhanced transparency. It also creates a Transportation Megaprojects Committee under the Transportation Research Board to study persistent issues and recommend improvements to funding and oversight.
The changes apply to projects authorized for construction after a one-year enactment window.
At a Glance
What It Does
Defines megaproject as a project with an estimated total cost of $2.5B or more and authorizes the Secretary to designate additional megaprojects. Requires a comprehensive risk management plan, plus measures to track and control risk, updated cost estimates, and financial reserves.
Who It Affects
Recipients of federal financial assistance for megaprojects—primarily state departments of transportation and large regional transit authorities—must implement risk planning, monitoring, and transparency measures.
Why It Matters
Creates independent oversight mechanisms, standardizes risk management, and increases public accountability for the largest transportation investments.
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What This Bill Actually Does
The bill targets mega-transportation projects by setting a $2.5 billion cost threshold and allowing the Secretary to identify additional megaprojects. For these projects, recipients must submit a comprehensive risk management plan detailing how risks will be identified, quantified, monitored, and controlled to prevent cost overruns, delays, quality reductions, or diminished benefits.
The plan must include mechanisms to track risks and assurances that updated cost estimates will be routinely provided and that financial reserves will be maintained. A peer review group, of at least five members including one with project management experience, must be established within 90 days of authorization to provide expert input on scope, schedule, and budget, and to review major changes as they occur.
The Secretary must publish guidelines within 180 days outlining how peers are recruited and selected and must ensure no member has a direct or indirect financial interest in the megaproject. The group must meet annually and report its findings to the Secretary, Congress, and the recipient, helping to identify recurring problems and potential fixes.
A transparency requirement directs recipients to publish on their website the license details of engineers supervising megaproject aspects and to make peer-review reports publicly available within 90 days after submission. The bill also tasks the Transportation Research Board with creating a transportation megaprojects committee to study megaproject challenges and propose funding and oversight reforms, delivering a formal report within three years.
Finally, the amendment applies to projects authorized for construction one year after enactment. These measures are designed to improve accountability, predictability, and public trust in the country’s largest transportation investments.
The Five Things You Need to Know
Megaprojects are defined as projects with estimated total cost of $2.5 billion or more; the Secretary may designate additional megaprojects.
Recipients must submit a comprehensive risk management plan describing risk identification, quantification, monitoring, and control.
A peer review group of at least five members (including one with project management experience) must be established within 90 days of authorization.
Guidelines for recruiting peer review members must be published within 180 days, with no conflicts of interest allowed.
A Transportation Megaprojects Committee will be convened by the Transportation Research Board to review issues and report to Congress within three years.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
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Megaproject defined
Defines megaproject as any transportation project with an estimated total cost of $2.5 billion or more. The Secretary may designate other projects as megaprojects as deemed appropriate to ensure adequate oversight.
Comprehensive risk management plan
Requires a recipient of federal funds for a megaproject to submit a comprehensive risk management plan. The plan must describe how risks will be identified, quantified, and monitored, how these risks will be tracked, a plan to control identified risks, and assurances that updated cost estimates will be regularly submitted and that financial reserves will be maintained to address known and unknown risks.
Peer review group
Mandates a peer review group of at least five members, including at least one with project management experience, established within 90 days of authorization. The Secretary must publish guidelines within 180 days describing recruitment, selection criteria, and conflict‑of‑interest protections. The group must meet annually and review changes to scope, schedule, or budget, then report its findings to the Secretary, Congress, and the recipient.
Transparency
Requires recipients to publish on their website the name, license number, and license type of engineers supervising megaproject work, and to make the peer‑review report available within 90 days after submission.
Transportation megaprojects committee
The Secretary must arrange with the Transportation Research Board to convene a transportation megaprojects committee. The committee will review existing megaproject studies, examine international experience (notably the UK and France), identify common problems, propose approaches for the federal and state context, and recommend changes to DOT’s funding and oversight approaches. A final report with results and recommendations must be submitted to the Secretary, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee within three years of enactment.
Applicability
The amendment applies to megaprojects authorized for construction on or after the date that is one year after the enactment of this Act.
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Explore Transportation in Codify Search →Who Benefits and Who Bears the Cost
Every bill creates winners and losers. Here's who stands to gain and who bears the cost.
Who Benefits
- State departments of transportation overseeing megaprojects gain a formal risk-management framework and clearer expectations for cost control.
- Regional transit authorities and other large project sponsors receive structured oversight and timing cues that improve predictability and accountability.
- Project teams and engineers benefit from standardized reporting requirements and public transparency that clarify roles and responsibilities.
- Congress and the Department of Transportation gain access to independent assessments and consolidated insights from the peer review group and the Board-led committee.
Who Bears the Cost
- Recipient agencies must fund risk management, monitoring, and reporting activities, increasing administrative load and potential overhead.
- Engineering firms and contractors face new documentation and disclosure requirements for supervision and oversight.
- Local and state agencies must maintain financial reserves and up-to-date cost estimates, which may stress budgets on tight megaproject timelines.
- Public agencies incur costs to maintain public-facing transparency platforms and respond to additional oversight expectations.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
The central dilemma is balancing stringent, independent oversight and the risk of creating bureaucratic drag that slows megaproject delivery, potentially increasing total costs and delaying benefits to the public.
The bill introduces a rigorous oversight regime for megaprojects, but the added governance could slow decision‑making and raise upfront administrative costs. Implementers will need robust administrative capacity to develop and maintain risk plans, track and report risks, and manage the cadence of peer reviews.
There is a potential risk of conflicts of interest in peer selection if guidelines are not strictly enforced, and the effectiveness of the peer reviews depends on the independence and expertise of group members. Public disclosure requirements, while enhancing transparency, could expose project insiders and sensitive information to greater scrutiny.
The creation of a dedicated committee under the National Academies framework raises questions about funding, coordination with existing DOT oversight, and the integration of committee recommendations into current program management.
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