The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) wasn’t far behind.
Except it was called the Texas Highway Department at its inception in 1918.
Its first official highway project was a 20-mile road between Falfurrias and Encino, now known as US 281.
The department measures its roads by “centerline” miles: miles traveled in a one-way direction regardless of the number of lanes. By that measure, TxDOT is responsible for about 80,000 miles of roads: interstates, U.S. highways, state highways, farm-to-market roads, ranch-to-market roads, frontage roads, Pass routes, park roads and recreation roads.
According to its website, TxDOT’s mission is to be a “forward-thinking leader delivering mobility, enabling economic opportunity, and enhancing quality of life for all Texans.”
To do that, the department employs about 12,000 and has a budget of almost $15 billion for 2022-23.
It spent $140.93 million on IT services in 2021.
The department listed seven goals in its 2023-27 Strategic Plan:
- Promote safety
- Deliver the right projects
- Focus on the customer
- Foster stewardship
- Optimize system performance
- Preserve our assets
- Value our employees
Some recent highlights for the department include winning Best Application Serving an Agency’s Business Needs at the Texas Digital Government Summit’s* Best of Texas Awards in the summer for its work on the Geospatial Portal.
“The portal was designed to meet a broad range of needs in support of TxDOT’s mission-critical priorities focused on preserving assets and promoting safety. The applications support users from field crews to the executive level alike through situational awareness, efficient data capture and informed decision-making,” according to the agency. The team designed the portal using agile best practices. Jenn Lash, statewide GIS program manager at TxDOT, accepted the award with the team.
In July the department began to act on its Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Plan, updated on its website earlier this month. Its goal is to “enable passenger EV travel across the state and spur economic development.”
“The network will give electric vehicle drivers confidence and flexibility when traveling for work, recreation or exploration regardless of distance traveled or weather conditions,” states the plan.
The plan’s timeline includes issuing requests for proposals (RFPs) to create charging stations and alternative-fuel corridors across the state.
*The Digital Government Summits are hosted by Government Technology, Industry Insider — Texas’ sister publication.
