Following a record year for infrastructure investment, TxDOT leadership recently told a regional gathering of employees, contractors and other transportation partners the agency is meeting the increasing demand for safety, delivery and innovation as the Texas population continues to grow like no other.
"You all have seen just tremendous growth in resources that we have been the beneficiary of as an agency," Executive Director Marc Williams told a crowd of more than 1,000 at the three-day Texas Transportation Forum in January. "[Texas Transportation Commission] Chairman [J. Bruce] Bugg [Jr.] has been a tremendous leader helping us not only obtain those resources and advocate for that, but to execute on that."
During a one-on-one conversation with Williams, the chairman lauded the daily contributions of TxDOT's 13,000 employees, opening his remarks by underscoring the importance of the agency's partnerships and also the leadership of the state's top official.
"I want to thank Gov. Greg Abbott for appointing me as chairman," he told attendees, referring to his ascent to TxDOT's top post in 2017 following his start at the Texas Transportation Commission in 2015. "I love what I do, and I'll tell you why: Every day we're serving Texans throughout the state of Texas in ways that help them get your kids to school, help people get to work," Bugg continued.
Attendees received hard copies of TxDOT's Progress Report, an annual publication detailing the agency's achievements and commitments to deliver on safety, support statewide connectivity and congestion relief in the state's major metros.
In addition to highlighting the $80 billion of non-tolled projects that are complete, under construction or planned to get urban Texans out of gridlock under the Texas Clear Lanes program, the report underscores TxDOT's unwavering dedication to improving the lives of Texans in every corner of the state.
The report also emphasizes the record investments driving economic development in the world's eighth-largest economy. Those investments include TxDOT's $104 billion Unified Transportation Program, the agency's 10-year investment plan for construction projects.
The event also attracted transportation leaders from other fast-growing states — Nevada and Utah — sparking a panel discussion on the use of technology for reducing roadway fatalities and the continued need for public engagement to address behavioral habits that innovation may not be able to solve.
With safety a paramount concern for every project, Bugg underscored TxDOT's continued progress in meeting the challenges of rapid growth, highlighting that since 2015, Texas has seen an 800 percent increase for rural transportation funding and $8.1 billion for border infrastructure.
"We have so many projects in the pipeline," Bugg said. "Our motto is ‘Connecting you with Texas' — there's a lot of Texas to connect you with."
(Story by Paul Stinson.)
