NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) officials broke down how the agency would spend the $1.18 billion included in Gov. Bill Lee’s budget proposal, mainly prioritizing maintenance, repairs, and expediting existing projects.
If Gov. Bill Lee’s budget is approved by the General Assembly, TDOT would receive an additional $80 million in recurring funds, which the agency would use on maintenance, including $6 million to expand mowing and litter crews, $16.7 to expand TDOT HELP trucks to rural areas, and a combined $32 million for pavement and bridge preservation.
TDOT officials told lawmakers the state has seen a significant, steady decline in pavement conditions since 2012, and its bridges are getting older, making repairs an increasing, recurring expense.
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“State of good repair; maintaining what we have is paramount to us in being able to continue our mission as a department and the infrastructure in the state, and we’re beginning to fall behind on that front,” TDOT Commissioner Butch Eley told lawmakers in the House Finance, Ways, and Means Committee Monday.
“We are trying to fix it first and trying not to let things get so bad that now it’s a total replacement,” Joe Galbato, TDOT deputy commissioner and chief financial officer said.
TDOT would spend $775 million in non-recurring funds to expedite 10-year plan projects, add projects to the 10-year plan, and leverage statewide partnership program projects, which would help fund road projects for local governments that don’t have the money.
“One of the things that we are really making an effort to do is finish what we start,” Commissioner Eley said. “It’s a mentality that we feel like not only you deserve, but the people of Tennessee deserve in being able to know that when we start a project it doesn’t have to take 15 or 20 years, and in some cases, hadn’t still been done.”
However, with all the growth in Tennessee, some lawmakers questioned why the new, recurring funds would not be used for new projects.
“We’ve learned to do so much with so little for so long, we can do just about anything with absolutely nothing, so I’m a little bit concerned about that, because I was hoping that $80 million would be adding new projects to the list, but it’s not necessarily doing that,” Rep. Ryan Williams (R-Cookeville).
“This $80 million being put into bridge preservation, pavement preservation, and the things that we need to invest in just to maintain what we have, that is a recurring expense,” Commissioner Eley replied. “It was the best way to spend those dollars.”
TDOT officials said revenue streams from the gas and vehicle registration tax have plateaued, and since TN doesn’t take out debt to pay for road projects, they have to prioritize using the allotted cash from the state.
“You don’t put in a swimming pool if your house needs painting. We’ve got to paint the house before we can do something that we’d really all like to have — the wife and kids splashing in the backyard,” Will Reed, TDOT deputy commissioner and chief engineer said.
Tennessee has a $38 billion backlog in road projects, according to a recent TACIR report. Many of them involve maintenance and repairs.
The General Assembly could make tweaks to Gov. Lee’s proposed budget before voting to approve the final budget this legislative session.
