Purpose
Monitoring is required in order to:
- Ensure compliance with state and federal requirements.
- Ensure that objectives and performance measures are being achieved.
Project monitoring also serves as a management tool for:
- Detecting and preventing problems.
- Helping to identify needed changes (grant modifications or amendments).
- Identifying training or assistance needed.
- Providing data necessary for daily operations, planning, and evaluation.
- Identifying exemplary projects and best practices.
Monitoring is a sound management practice to ensure compliance
with project objectives and generally accepted accounting principles,
which ensures that the State is receiving what it is contracting
for. The TxDOT Traffic Safety Division - Behavioral Traffic Safety
Section (TRF-BTS) expends considerable time and funds to annually
develop the Highway Safety Plan (HSP) goals, objectives and strategies.
Monitoring ensures that the selected strategies are fully
implemented as planned in order to achieve the best possible results.
If a project fails to achieve the anticipated positive impact, one
of the first things to consider should be the monitoring results
to determine if a poor strategy or poor strategy execution was a
factor. Based on the answer, TRF-BTS should then identify what should
be done differently the next time to ensure future project success.