There are a number of important limitations to the research undertaken for this project. Understanding these limitations is vital to understanding the applicability of the research findings. First, it would be a disservice to the reader if this section failed to mention the time constraints involved. Graduate level capstone groups at the George Washington University are assembled in the beginning of a semester at which time a topic and client is assigned. The first few weeks were used to meet with the client, explore the appropriate focus of the project, and arrive at a consensus on scope, purpose, and objectives. Given these preliminary requirements, the team dedicated the remaining two months of the academic semester to research, analysis, and the composition of the final report.
Although a majority of the methods proved successful, some limitations were beyond the team's immediate control. Distribution of the survey to Maryland General Assembly during a special legislative session most certainly affected the response rate. The team received some feedback from two of the delegates who said they were too busy to take the survey. Due to the limited number of respondents, the team was unable to attain meaningful results from this method.
During the course of the project, Virginia was fully engaged in negotiations with Fluor-Transurban on the final economic model of the 75-year concession agreement to operate the improved portion of the Capital Beltway. Although representatives from all three parties were responsive to the team, they could not produce a finished product that would have provided us with the final revenue and risk sharing information.