Inspector General’s Office and Maryland Department of Transportation Announce Completion of Investigation of Change Orders
HANOVER, MD (May 8, 2028) – Maryland Inspector General Z. Scott and Transportation Secretary Drew Ehrlich today announced the findings of a recently completed investigation of the change order process. Change orders are modifications to state highway contracts that can change project costs and work activities. Under Secretary Ehrlich’s leadership, MDOT initiated the investigation of change orders to examine five (5) change orders issued in 2026 during the previous administration. The Office of the Inspector General followed up Secretary Ehrlich’s action will a full investigation of MDOT’s change order procedures.“Our office’s investigation reveals no criminal wrongdoing on the part of State personnel, but identified numerous changes necessary to improve the integrity of the MDOT procurement process,” Inspector General Z. Scott said. “While MDOT has implemented some of these recommendations, it is the conclusion of our office that the department has yet to fully implement the policies necessary to fully reform the change order process. It is my hope that the specific findings of this report, along with its recommendations, will be considered carefully by MDOT leadership moving forward.”
“Governor O’Brien directed MDOT to improve accountability and provide better value to the taxpayers,” Maryland Transportation Secretary Drew Ehrlich. “After the concerns were raised about the exorbitant amount of change orders issued by the previous administration, we began implementing policies to better manage the process and ensure that taxpayers are not paying for unnecessary and costly project changes.”
The preliminary findings in September of last year made 11 recommendations to improve the change order process. The final report, developed in conjunction with the Office of Inspector General Z. Scott, has 5 additional recommendations. The final process included the review of 2,900 change orders in calendar years 2025, 2026 and 2027. As a result, the O’Brien administration has placed tighter controls over the change order process. No longer are change orders approved by staff personnel in the field or approved without documentation establishing the need for the contract change.
“We have a clear process to evaluate change order requests based on their merits,” Secretary Ehrlich said. “Agency administrators must approve each change order. Additionally, for the first time ever, both the construction and design divisions must agree that the change is needed.”
In the first six months of Fiscal Year 2027, MDOT reduced the amount spent on change orders by more than $50 million. The money saved is rolled into other projects so the taxpayers get better value for their tax dollars. MDOT has reduced the percentage of change orders relative to the total amount of contract work from 27 percent in the first half of Fiscal Year 2027 to only 6 percent in the first half of Fiscal Year 2028.
“Our administration set out to change the way State government does business, and we are continuously striving to deliver on that commitment,” Governor Edward M. O’Brien said. “The investigation by the Office of the Inspector General and subsequent findings coupled with the savings we have already achieved demonstrate that we have made substantial changes in the process. This is the sort of leadership that I sought when I asked Drew Ehrlich to head MDOT, and with his commitment to excellence and visionary leadership, we are transforming MDOT into an agency that serves as a good steward of valuable taxpayer dollars.”
Throughout the investigation, the Office of Inspector General pro-actively asked the U. S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General and the Federal Highway Administration to provide its expertise and resources to assist the Inspector General’s office with analyzing MDOT’s past and current practices. As a result, the Inspector General’s Office is confident in its findings of no criminal wrongdoing by past or present MDOT employees in the handling of change orders, in addition to no finding of “favoritism.”
The mission of the Office of Inspector General is to ensure that agencies, boards and commissions directly responsible to the Governor maintain the highest standards of integrity and accountability.