ODOT Asks Lawmakers To Restore Funding

Thursday, January 5th 2017, 6:14 pm

By: Aaron Brilbeck

With the state facing a nearly $900-million budget deficit, the House of Representatives is trying something new. This week, they’re hearing from the five biggest departments in the state to get a handle on spending.

Thursday, lawmakers heard from the Oklahoma Department of Transportation; an agency not looking for an increase in funding.

"We are focused on getting our bridge problem manageable.” ODOT Executive Director Mike Patterson told lawmakers, “It is something that we believe in, we put a lot of effort into it, and we're not going to back off that goal."

Up until the state’s budget crisis last year, Patterson said, ODOT was right on pace for that goal. There have been 1,264 bridge replacements or refurbishments completed in Oklahoma in the past 10-years. Patterson said ODOT has made bridge repair its number one priority.

"We know that if you have a good road and a bad bridge you can't get across the river. But if you have a bad road a and a good bridge you can still get your goods to market,” said Patterson.

Patterson told state lawmakers so far they’ve done a good job of funding the projects.

"No other state has made this type of investment in the last decade. We haven't seen this kind of investment since the interstate system,” said Patterson.

But last year, the state reduced ODOT’s budget by $367-million; that was 28% of the state’s overall $1.3 billion-dollar budget shortfall. Patterson said the ODOT has another 824 bridges to replace; 321-listed as “structurally deficient” and even more that are so old, they just need to be replaced.

"We will still have more than 1400 bridges that are over 80 years old. They won't be structurally deficient. But they will be functionally obsolete,” said Patterson.

Patterson stressed, he is not asking for an increase in the gas sales tax. He said, long term, that will not sustain ODOT.