TDOT asks legislature for recurring and one-time funds to arrest falling pavement and aging bridges

Tennessee Department of Transportation leaders told the Senate Transportation and Safety Committee that they need both recurring and one-time funding to maintain roads and bridges and to accelerate projects slowed by flat gas-tax revenue and high construction inflation.

The department presented the governor's proposed budget and a mix of recurring and nonrecurring requests that would expand pavement- and bridge-preservation work, add rural service patrols and mowing cycles, increase spot-safety funding and cover personnel costs the agency has absorbed since 2022.

Why it matters: TDOT officials said pavement and bridge conditions are approaching levels where deferred work becomes significantly more expensive. The department asked the Legislature to fund both ongoing maintenance and a nonrecurring push to move projects up in its 10-year plan so repairs do not compound into larger failures.

Commissioner (Tennessee Department of Transportation) opened the presentation by describing a shift in revenue and costs: "we are very much a, traditionally, TDOT has been a eat what you kill, agency" that depended on gas-tax growth, and that growth has flattened while construction inflation has risen. Deputy Commissioner and Chief Financial Officer Joe Galvato, Deputy Commissioner and Chief Engineer Will Reed and Deputy Commissioner for Planning Preston Elliott each described condition trends and the…