Vermont AOT to build project dashboards, propose phasing out 10g report after paving audit

Senate Transportation resumed testimony on the paving project audit and heard from Jeremy Reed, chief engineer for the Vermont Agency of Transportation, on the agency—ffort to improve transparency and project tracking.

Reed told the committee the agency is building dashboards "very similar to the Virginia DOT" that will report several key performance indicators, including comparisons of preliminary-plan cost estimates to engineer estimates at bid, schedule measures from preliminary plan to bid and measures of engineering and construction costs and schedule. "We are building some dashboards that are very similar to the Virginia DOT," Reed said. "At this point, we're not actually establishing targets because we just want to know kind of programmatically where we're at first, and then we'll decide where our performance targets go."

The dashboards are roughly 75% complete and Reed said the agency expects them to be available by mid‑summer. He described those metrics as internal tools initially, but said the agency could provide a quarterly snapshot to the two legislative transportation committees if the committees want it. "Right now, those are not intended to be public facing. But if the committee would like a snapshot, of potentially a quarter in a roll of whatever, we'd be happy to do that," Reed said.

Why it matters: the discussion responds directly to an auditor—inding on paving‑project cost and schedule reporting. Senators pressed for clearer, higher‑level reporting that would let legislators and affected communities see when projects slip or funding shortfalls delay work. Committee members cited past examples of late notifications to local communities when projects were postponed, saying a concise dashboard and clearer names for reports would reduce confusion.

Committee members and Reed discussed the existing 10g report, a statutory reporting product used now to surface large project cost changes. Reed suggested the agency could work with the committee to phase the 10g report out once a dashboard is proven useful. "If we got it quarterly, email to, both transportation committees in the legislature, I think that would be a plus from where we are now," one senator said. Reed agreed to work on language and thresholds with the committee.

Senators and Reed also discussed how projects are selected and re‑scored when cost or scope changes occur. Reed described an iterative internal process: projects enter the program after a preliminary plan is developed, then are refined with geotechnical work and local input. He said that for some asset‑condition projects the asset management bureau identifies needs through inspections and pavement condition surveys.

Committee members pressed for better notice to communities when high‑cost projects move in or out of a program. Reed offered a local example: Route 15, which he called a roughly $12,000,000 paving project that was among the highest‑cost entries in the book in 2023. That project moved years in the schedule and local officials learned of the change through a newspaper before receiving direct notice. "People in town came to me and said it's been put off, and I was caught flat footed," a senator said. Reed acknowledged both unanticipated issues (such as right‑of‑way delays that went to the state Supreme Court) and "self‑inflicted optimism" in delivery estimates.

The committee and Reed discussed federal grant uncertainty and program dependencies. Reed said the agency has high confidence it will secure the majority of highway grant awards from Federal Highway Administration and that several core network projects remain expected to receive federal funding. Separately, Reed and senators discussed an IT project to measure miles traveled: the agency has $1,700,000 allocated toward a $3,700,000 project and warned the dashboard should report when grant outcomes could hold up work.

On other items, Reed said the agency is committed to administrative efficiency and better labels for reporting products so the public can understand them. "We re committed to transparency, and we want to give you stuff that's useful for us and for you," he said.

The hearing produced no formal motions or votes; senators asked the agency to provide ongoing updates on the dashboards, grant outcomes and vendor projects as information develops.

Reed and committee members agreed to continue the conversation about report thresholds and to consider quarterly dashboard snapshots for the legislature.