TxDOT Bows To Popular Pressure, Releases Deficient Bridge Report
Vince Leibowitz | Aug 18, 2007 | Comments 0
Bowing to popular pressure and the demands of lawmakers, the Texas Department of Transportation released an inventory of structurally deficient bridges across the state.
Although the report notes that 2,024 Texas bridges are structurally deficient, it opens with the false line:
“All bridges open to traffic on Texas public roads in the State of Texas are safe.”
There are about 33,000 bridges which are considered “on system,” meaning TxDOT is responsible for them. Another 17,000 are considered “off system” meaning that county or city governments are responsible for them. Of structurally deficient bridges, 445 are on system bridges; another 1,579 are 0ff-system.
In releasing its list, TxDOT also sent Lt. Governor David Dewhurst a five-page letter slamming him and the legislature for failure to appropriate adequate funding for the agency (which has a record of poorly spending the money which it is allocated):
The agency at the same time released a broadside, sending Dewhurst a five-page letter that included several paragraphs outlining how the Legislature has failed to provide it the necessary funds to take on bridge maintenance and other state transportation challenges.
“In each of the recent legislative sessions, TxDOT and its regional partners have been asked to do more with less,” the letter from Texas Transportation Commission Chairman Ric Williamson says.
The full report is here.
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Filed Under: Texas Public Policy & Taxation
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TxDOT Bows To Popular Pressure, Releases Deficient Bridge ReportSubmitted by: CapitolAnnex on 8/18/07 via feed from Capitol Annex Bowing to popular pressure and the demands of lawmakers, the Texas Department of Transportation released an inventory of structurally deficient bridges across the state.
