EDUCATION OF THE PUBLIC IS THE HOOK ON WHICH WE WILL HANG OUR SUCCESS IN KEEPING OUR TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM SAFE AND EFFICIENT. Like using our system, funding is taken for granted. As leaders in transportation it is our responsibility to help the public make a connection between a good system and solid funding for that system.

 

JOHN SCHROER

Commissioner

Tennessee Department of Transportation

TENNESSEE

/// Accomplishments

■ TDOT’s “pay as you go” philosophy is still intact as we continue to spend only the revenue we receive through our state highway user fees. Tennessee remains one of only five states with no transportation debt.

■ One hundred fifty-five maintenance employees received their general educational equivalency requirement through a program begun a year earlier by TDOT.

■ In a partnership between TDOT and the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, Tennessee opened the first facility in the nation to train first responders in incident management.

■ The year-long celebration of our 100 years as a state agency included a mobile exhibit that traveled across the state; 60 commemorative signs for Tennessee’s first road, State Route 1; a centennial marker with a time capsule to be opened in 2115 and a history book on Tennessee transportation.

 

/// NEW Initiatives

■ TDOT developed its own mobile website application to better control the traffic information provided to motorists. It includes, for the first time, live streaming video. This is one of many products we plan to develop in-house as we continue our NextGen IT reorganization.

■ TDOT gained local and national attention for conducting a safety message contest for its Dynamic Message Signs. We received 3,400 entries and more than 7,000 votes on the finalists. The winning messages are being displayed across the state. The contest was so successful we will likely do it every year.

■ Customer Focused Government, an initiative of Gov. Bill Haslam, is changing the way all state agencies conduct business with renewed dedication to our customers. TDOT is developing new software which can make our massive amounts of data available to the public.

 

/// Looking Ahead

■ Seeking more efficient project delivery, TDOT is using the Construction Manager/General Contractor (CMGC) method on an ambitious bridge project in downtown Nashville. Eight bridges, carrying hundreds of thousands of motorists daily, will be rehabilitated and replaced in only 13 weekends.

■ Even though TDOT is a pay-as-you-go state, funding remains a challenge. Tennessee’s highway user fees are some of the lowest in the nation and haven’t been raised in 25 years. Alternative ways to fund transportation are aggressively being explored.

TENNESSEE