State Legislators Question TDOT Officials About Off-System Bridges

Counties are having a problem with delays in federal funding for bridge programs. TDOT officials confirmed today that the average amount of time for TDOT to get an "off-system" bridge project underway is four years. These projects represent bridges on county highways and city streets that are not part of the state highway system. Both representatives of local government and state legislators expressed concerns that these delays are dramatically inflating the costs of these projects. In some cases, the local government is then committed to paying their share of a project that is much more expensive than anticipated when the project began. TDOT officials stated that they recognize this long-standing problem and that fixing this issue is a high priority for them. They have hopes that either bonding or a new federal infrastructure stimulus package might free up funds to allow the department to make progress in this area.