A new state audit says Georgia’s Department of Transportation needs to do a much better job in getting road projects off the planning table to construction.
The report was commissioned by Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle and House Speaker Glenn Richardson. Among several issues, it points to Georgia taking 22 months longer on average than other states to get projects done.
State DOT spokesman David Spear agrees with the basics of the audit, but says the results are not as grave as they appear. He says the audit used a general survey of other states’ results from four years ago, compared to hard numbers in Georgia from this year.
Spear says the department needs to improve its operation, such as project delivery. Instead of separate contracts for a design and build phase, there could be one contract for both--thus saving potentially 18-24 months on the speed of a project.
However, Spear says a few important factors are out of the department's control.
"We can get better, we need to get better, we will get better...but at the end of the day it still comes back to federal regulations that have to be upheld, and you have a finite pot of money that doesn’t even begin to approach covering the needs that we have".
The state DOT is dealing with a major budget shortfall over the next 30 years. Lawmakers will tackle a host of transportation issues in the next General Assembly.
The report was commissioned by Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle and House Speaker Glenn Richardson. Among several issues, it points to Georgia taking 22 months longer on average than other states to get projects done.
State DOT spokesman David Spear agrees with the basics of the audit, but says the results are not as grave as they appear. He says the audit used a general survey of other states’ results from four years ago, compared to hard numbers in Georgia from this year.
Spear says the department needs to improve its operation, such as project delivery. Instead of separate contracts for a design and build phase, there could be one contract for both--thus saving potentially 18-24 months on the speed of a project.
However, Spear says a few important factors are out of the department's control.
"We can get better, we need to get better, we will get better...but at the end of the day it still comes back to federal regulations that have to be upheld, and you have a finite pot of money that doesn’t even begin to approach covering the needs that we have".
The state DOT is dealing with a major budget shortfall over the next 30 years. Lawmakers will tackle a host of transportation issues in the next General Assembly.
