The Oversight Commission on the Department of Transportation Accountability met today. Several updates were presented to the committee. First, the DOT Secretary stated that the DOH is planning for federal funds through the Infrastructure and Jobs Act. It is a large program, about $3 billion over five years. With any federal funding, programs will have fiscal constraints, but several programs.
The Secretary also updated the committee on the core maintenance in the state. Over the last three years, the agency has performed more and more core maintenance each year. Core maintenances is pothole repairs, mowing, and ditching. Last year, the agency’s goal was 87,000 tons in asphalt repairs. The agency met 87 percent of the goal and believe they will be able to reach 100 percent this year, with a lower amount of asphalt because of core repairs.
The agency has experienced issues with equipment availability. This issue is nationwide. Last year, two drills were purchased for the DOT, which has cut prices from contracting out with equipment companies.
In 2021, 700 people were hired to the DOT. The agency did suffer employee loss during the pandemic with about 500 separations. Additionally, 180 employees retired.
The Secretary also provided an update on the Multimodal Transportation Facilities transition. The department is looking for an agency head. The DOT has restructured the budgets and organizational interactions. Overall, the organizational chart won’t be affected too much. The transition will remove some of the smaller boards and commission, which met infrequently. The Multimodal Transportation Facilities will free up resources and allow for collaboration with various transportation agencies, while not affecting the day to day operations of the individual agencies.
