Rep. Todd Russ (R-Cordell), chair of the House Appropriations & Budget Committee for Transportation, is espousing the benefits of legislative actions he said would result in the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) proceeding with road and bridge projects.
The state’s transportation funding allotment will be about $4 million more in Fiscal Year 2021 than for FY20, once all bonding and debt structures and transportation funds are taken into account.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the accompanying budget shortfall, state agencies realized an average of 4 percent cuts to their Fiscal Year 2021 budgets, representing a lower cut than had originally been anticipated. The Legislature approved the FY21 state budget via veto override, and ODOT received a $180 million reduction to ODOT’s highway construction program.
Lawmakers authorized the agency to issue $200 million in bonds to help keep projects on track and to make bond payments for the first year.
“The Legislature for years now has made a commitment to improving our roads and bridges, knowing that keeping our families safe and our commerce running smoothly is one of the top services of government,” Russ said. “I was glad we were able to find the right balance of appropriations and bonds to keep our eight-year roads projects on track and our County Improvements for Roads and Bridges fund intact.”
The ODOT commission recently approved two major interstate project contracts slated to impact the Oklahoma City metro area – the
first being a nearly $80 million effort to replace six bridges on I-40 in Del City while the other is a nearly $28 million project to rehabilitate the concrete pavement and nine bridges on I-44 between I-40, just south of I-240 on the city’s southwest side.