The Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) is an

agency Agency may refer to: Organizations * Institution, governmental or others ** Advertising agency or marketing agency, a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising for its clients ** Employment agency, a business that ...

of the

government of Oklahoma The government of the U.S. State of Oklahoma, established by the Oklahoma Constitution, is a republican democracy modeled after the federal government of the United States. The state government has three branches: the executive, legislative, a ...

responsible for the construction and maintenance of the state's transportation infrastructure. Under the leadership of the Oklahoma secretary of transportation and ODOT executive director, the department maintains public infrastructure that includes highways and state-owned railroads and administers programs for county roads, city streets, public transit, passenger rail, waterways and active transportation. Along with the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority, the department is the primary infrastructure construction and maintenance agency of the State.Okla. Stat. tit. 47, § 2-106.2A ODOT is overseen by the Oklahoma Transportation Commission, composed of nine members appointed by the

governor of Oklahoma The governor of Oklahoma is the head of government of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Under the Oklahoma Constitution, the governor serves as the head of the Oklahoma executive branch, of the government of Oklahoma. The governor is the '' ex o ...

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

David L. Boren David Lyle Boren (born April 21, 1941) is a retired American lawyer and politician from the state of Oklahoma. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as 21st governor of Oklahoma from 1975 to 1979 and three terms in the United States Senate ...

. It superseded the Department of Highways, which was established in 1911. The Department of Transportation's

mission statement A mission statement is a short statement of why an organization exists, what its overall goal is, the goal of its operations: what kind of product or service it provides, its primary customers or market, and its geographical region of operatio ...

is "The mission of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation is to provide a safe, economical and effective transportation network for the people, commerce and communities of Oklahoma."

History

The predecessor agency to ODOT was the Department of Highways, which began operations in 1911, four years after Oklahoma statehood. The Department of Highways, consisting of four employees, was given an initial budget of $3,700. The state's first 29 numbered highways were commissioned on August 29, 1924. As of May 1, 1926, the state highway system consisted of of graded dirt roads (72% of the system), of gravel roads (16%), and of paved roads, for a total system length of . By March 1, 1930, the department name had been modified slightly to simply the Oklahoma Department of Highways. In 1976, the

Oklahoma Legislature The Legislature of the State of Oklahoma is the state legislative branch of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The Oklahoma House of Representatives and Oklahoma Senate are the two houses that make up the bicameral state legislature. There are 1 ...

restructured the Department of Highways as an overall coordinating agency for the state's highways, railways and waterways and renamed to the Oklahoma Department of Transportation.

Overview

The Department of Transportation is primarily funded by motor vehicle fuel taxes, income taxes, legislative appropriations, and a return of federal matching dollars from the Federal Highway Trust Fund. ODOT's annual budget of both federal and state funds is applied to highway construction and maintenance activities, railways, waterways, rural public transit programs and administration statewide. ODOT is responsible for construction of maintenance of of non-tolled highway lanes and nearly 6,800 bridges and administers state and federal funding used on city and county road and bridge projects. In 2019, ODOT assessed approximately 86 of its highway bridges as being structurally deficient. This is compared to 1,168 structurally deficient bridges in 2004. The department maintains of state-owned railway, which are operated through leases with railroad companies, administers the Federal Highway Administration's Grade Crossing Safety Program which provides funding to make safety improvements to Oklahoma's nearly 3,800 at-grade public railway/road intersections, and manages the

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. ...

Heartland Flyer The ''Heartland Flyer'' is a daily passenger train that follows a route between Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Fort Worth, Texas. It is operated by Amtrak and jointly funded by the states of Oklahoma and Texas. The train's daily round-trip begins ...

passenger rail service in partnership with the Texas Department of Transportation. ODOT is also responsible for administration of state and federal funding for public transit operators in areas with less than 50,000 in population and state safety oversight of fixed guideway rail transit systems, including the Oklahoma City Streetcar.

Leadership

The agency is under the supervision of the Oklahoma secretary of transportation. under

Governor of Oklahoma The governor of Oklahoma is the head of government of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Under the Oklahoma Constitution, the governor serves as the head of the Oklahoma executive branch, of the government of Oklahoma. The governor is the '' ex o ...

Kevin Stitt, Tim Gatz is serving as the Cabinet secretary. The Oklahoma Transportation Commission is the governing body of the state transportation department. The

, the president pro tempore of the

Oklahoma Senate The Oklahoma Senate is the upper house of the two houses of the Legislature of Oklahoma, the other being the Oklahoma House of Representatives. The total number of senators is set at 48 by the Oklahoma Constitution.Oklahoma House of Representatives appoint the members of the nine-member commission. It is the duty of the commission to establish agency policies, award contracts, approve budgets and conduct oversight. The members each represent one of the eight geographic districts corresponding with the agency's eight field divisions, with an additional at-large commissioner representing the entire state. The governor serves as an ex officio member of the commission, but may only vote to break a tie. The current members of the Oklahoma Transportation Commission are as follows: *Governor Kevin Stitt, ex officio *At Large: Mr. V. Gene McKown, Chairman *District 1: Mr. Bob Coburn *District 2: Mr. James Grimsley *District 3: Mr.

T.W. Shannon Tahrohon Wayne Shannon (born February 24, 1978) is an American banker and politician who served as a member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives for the 62nd district from 2007 to 2015. In a ceremony on January 8, 2013, Shannon took the oath ...

, Secretary *District 4: Mr. Don Freymiller *District 5: Mr. David Dyson *District 6: Mr. Bobby Alexander *District 7: Mr. Stephen LaForge *District 8: Mr. Bob Peterson, vice-chairman

Organization

*Cabinet Secretary *Transportation Commission **Executive Director ***Chief Engineer ****Director of Engineering *****Right of Way and Utilities Division *****Legal and Business Services Division *****Bridge Division *****Roadway Design Division *****Traffic Engineering Division *****Environmental Programs Division *****Survey Division ****Director of Operations *****Maintenance Division *****Construction Division *****Materials Division *****Office Engineer Division *****Field Divisions ******Division 1 - Muskogee ******Division 2 - Antlers ******Division 3 - Ada ******Division 4 - Perry ******Division 5 - Clinton ******Division 6 - Buffalo ******Division 7 - Duncan ******Division 8 - Tulsa ***Deputy Director ****Legislation and Policy ****Director of Capital Programs *****Strategic Asset and Performance Management Division *****Rail Programs Division *****Local Government Division *****Project Management Division *****Tribal Liaison *****Facilities Management Division *****Office of Research and Implementation *****Waterways Program ****Director of Finance and Administration *****Office Services Division *****Office of Mobility and Public Transit *****Media and Public Relations Division *****Comptroller Division *****Human Resources Division *****Procurement Division ***General Counsel ***Operations Review and Evaluation Division ***Civil Rights Division

Field Divisions

Management and Finance

Staffing

The Transportation Department, with an annual budget of $1.7 billion, is one of the largest employers of Oklahoma state government. For fiscal year 2021, the department was authorized 2395 full-time employees.https://omes.ok.gov/sites/g/files/gmc316/f/publications/bud21.pdf , Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services

Budget

The Department of Transportation receives appropriations from the

and direct streams of revenue authorized by State law. The primary revenue sources for the department are the state's excise tax on

gasoline Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic c ...

and

diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engi ...

motor fuels and the state

income tax An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Ta ...

. The agency also receives

Grants Grant or Grants may refer to: Places *Grant County (disambiguation) Australia * Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia United Kingdom *Castle Grant United States * Grant, Alabama * Grant, Inyo County, ...

through the Federal-aid Highway Program of the

Federal Highway Administration The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program ...

. The department's annual budget is primarily divided between two major areas: Operations and Capital Programs. For fiscal year 2021, the Department of Transportation had the following budget by division areas: For fiscal year 2021, the Department of Transportation had the following budget by program area:

Supporting agencies

*Highway Construction Materials Technician Certification Boardhttp://www.odot.org/Publications/19_FO_Publication_AnimatedPages_3.swf *Tribal Advisory Board *Waterways Advisory Board *County Advisory Board

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Transportation, Department of Department of Transportation Oklahoma 1976 establishments in Oklahoma