US highway agencies no longer have to measure their own performance

The US Federal Highway Administration removed rules that required state transportation departments and metropolitan planning organizations to set and report performance targets. This means these agencies no longer have to show how well they are managing national highways, freight movement, or air quality improvement programs.

For years, federal rules pushed state and local transportation agencies to measure their own effectiveness. This rule change means they no longer have to. It removes a key lever for accountability, making it harder to track whether public money spent on roads and transit is actually improving things like congestion or air quality.