Highway Official Says Progress Being Made

Thursday, August 23rd 2007, 7:54 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Oklahoma is making progress in fixing its roads and bridges but will need sustained funding increases to keep it up, Department of Transportation Director Gary Ridley said Thursday as a legislative subcommittee kicked off an interim study on transportation needs.

ODOT did not get $32.5 million in promised road funds this year because under 2006 legislation the money was contingent upon state revenue growing by 3%.

Ridley said his agency cannot meets its goals under an eight-year plan for repairing and replacing roads and bridges if it suffers further funding shortages. He said he believes it was the intent of lawmakers that ODOT get the full $200 million a year proposed in state law.

He told the House Transportation Subcommittee that ODOT is proceeding with bridge inspections to ensure the safety of Oklahomans and will be repairing and replacing hundreds of bridges in the coming years.

He warned that the task may be complicated because of the possibility of declining federal highway funding.

Bridge safety has become a big issue since the deadly collapse of a bridge in Minnesota on Interstate 35.

Ridley said it was "a prime example" of the decline in the interstate system over the years.

In 2006, the Legislature voted to provide annual increases of up to $50 million per year for Oklahoma roads and bridges until $200 million in additional new funding was achieved.

That same year lawmakers also provided a special, one time $125 million appropriation for critical bridge repair across Oklahoma.

The funding plan approved in 2006 was designed to eventually invest $6 billion to fix Oklahoma's crumbling roads and bridges over the next decade.

Rep. Guy Liebman, R-Oklahoma City, has proposed legislation to remove the 3% trigger to assure that ODOT gets enough money to do fix roads and bridges.

"We just want to make sure that we receive what the legislative intent was and I think that was for us to recover the $200 million," Ridley said.

Rep. Mike Thompson, R-Oklahoma City, chairman of the subcommittee, said lawmakers will be looking at recouping fees for highway funding that currently go to other areas of government.

Watch the video: Weather Takes Financial Toll On ODOT