AOT outlines FY26 maintenance budget, flags higher winter salt use and bridge needs

Gary Panno, director of maintenance for the Vermont Agency of Transportation, told the Senate Transportation Committee on Jan. 26 that the agency’s proposed FY26 maintenance budget focuses on large recurring tasks — staff training, technical assistance to towns, pavement patching, mowing, culvert work and bridge maintenance. He highlighted line items that exceed $500,000 and identified several areas where the committee requested further detail.

Panno said AOT proposes $1,500,000 for training and $1,555,000 for technical assistance, noting those figures reflect FY24 accomplishment quantities: “Training by AOT staff is the first one. It is $1,500,000,” he said, and “we spent 18,478 hours helping our towns” under technical assistance. He reported AOT plowed 1,000,529 miles in FY24 and that, to date this winter, the agency has used about 84,400 tons of salt compared with roughly 70,000 tons at the same point last winter.

The committee’s interest centered on where the largest budget movements occur and how current winter conditions might affect the maintenance budget. Panno said the agency is roughly halfway through its maintenance budget for the season and warned that if daily snowstorms continue the department could need additional funding within about 30 days. Committee members asked for a breakdown of the large line items — training, district leveling and equipment costs — and a multi-year comparison so the committee can see which items are increasing or decreasing.

Panno described specific maintenance activities and recent quantities: about 2,000 tons of pothole patch applied, roughly 3 miles of guardrail repaired statewide, about 535 tons of litter collected (including roughly 70 tons of tires) and nearly a mile of culverts replaced in the last reported year. He said guardrail repair is sometimes reimbursable if an accident report identifies an offender, but the agency does not always know who hit a rail.

Mowing and roadside habitat were a repeated focus. Panno explained federal funding and safety guidance require clearing a “clear zone” beside many roads; at the same time AOT has for about 15 years limited “mowback” to about one-third of acreage in a given corridor to protect pollinators. “We purposely save in that 10 miles that they're pushing back. We train our mowers if they notice a huge patch of milkweed, mow around,” Panno said.

Bridge maintenance drew attention because of federal requirements and cost. Panno said the agency must inspect or walk 50% of its bridges each year and wash superstructures and bearings to limit chloride damage. He noted some bridge-related activities are federally mandated and thus not discretionary: “Some of those, like bridge washing, have mandates from federal highway,” a committee member noted and Panno agreed. The presentation included a separate, larger request for medium bridge repair funding; Panno said those needs are under discussion with federal partners.

Panno also described a drawbridge the agency is preparing to maintain under contract. He said the drawbridge is technologically complex, not primarily mechanical like older bridges, and the agency has put a maintenance contract out to bid with an estimated contract value around $1,000,000; bids were expected in March.

Committee members pressed Panno for forthcoming reports: a line-item comparison showing where the biggest year-to-year movements are, verification of the portion of guardrail repairs reimbursed, and alerts if the winter budget approaches a tipping point so the committee can consider supplemental funding.

Ending: The committee did not take formal action at the hearing. Members asked AOT staff to return with the requested breakdowns and comparisons; Panno said he would provide those details and follow up on specific counts and reimbursements the committee asked to verify.