TxDOT Has Outlived Its Usefulness

After attending a meeting with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) at the Capitol regarding the unacceptable roadwork performed on FM 1826, it became crystal clear to many of the attendees that we need a new agency that is more in tune with community needs.

Years ago, TxDOT performed its community role admirably, but in today's Texas the agency has become bogged down in an endless sea of politics and profiteering power plays that have made it obsolete as the State's central road warrior. TxDOT's top-down management is incapable of working in the best interest of the state and of the communities it is supposed to benefit.

TxDOT and its employees are no longer held accountable to the people of Texas. The Attorney General and district attorneys can't touch TxDOT. Voters don't vote for those who manage and operate TxDOT. The governor appoints the agency chief, and then political favoritism determines hires throughout the agency. Only Texas lawmakers can stop this beast. Our transportation priorities should be clear-cut for the next session: it's time to stop the transportation monster living in our midst and devouring our tax dollars.

We should urge legislators to dismantle and rebuild a Texas Department of Transportation that Texans know will work in their interests with more direct accountability to the voters.

We should also encourage lawmakers to ensure that 100 percent of gasoline taxes collected go to building and maintaining Texas roadways — the reason that Texans voted for the tax in the first place. Currently TxDOT reportedly receives only 50 percent of those tax dollars, while the rest go to other legislative interests. Let all those tax dollars do what they were supposed to do.

The first step towards improvement begins with us.