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Department of Transportation says unrestricted revenues are small; warns of long‑term staffing and inflation pressures
Summary
Department of Transportation officials told Ways and Means that unrestricted, miscellaneous revenue available to DOT is very small—about $200,000 projected annually for FY26–27—and cannot substitute for highway fund or federal construction funding.
Department of Transportation officials told the House Ways and Means committee that unrestricted miscellaneous revenue available to DOT is very small compared with the agency’s overall budget and that continued inflation and a high vacancy rate are primary operational challenges.
Assistant Commissioner and Chief Engineer David Rodrigue said DOT’s FY2024 expenditures totaled about $702 million and that most federal funds must be spent on federally eligible purposes, with limited flexibility to support routine operations. He emphasized that unrestricted miscellaneous receipts—proceeds from sales of surplus land, equipment, signs in right‑of‑way fees, print shop revenues and junkyard licensing—have been roughly between $200,000 and $1.2 million in recent years and that the department conservatively projects $200,000 a year in miscellaneous revenue for FY2026 and FY2027.
Rodrigue described the department’s mission and scale: roughly 1,650 permanent positions, management of about 4,600 centerline miles of roadway, inspection responsibilities for 2,159 state bridges and oversight of municipal bridges. He outlined the turnpike enterprise (three segments including I‑95 and the Spaulding Turnpike) and said turnpike tolls are restricted to turnpike uses; toll credits are used as a non‑cash match to federal programs.
Rodrigue explained that part of the highway fund allocation history includes 4.2 cents per gallon previously used for state pavements and bridges that now must go to TIFIA debt service tied to I‑93 financing, reducing discretionary dollars for state pavement work by roughly $20 million annually. He said federal reimbursements require state matches (typically 10–20%) and DOT uses turnpike toll credits to meet those match obligations where available.
On workforce and costs, Rodrigue said the department’s vacancy rate is about 24% department‑wide (roughly one in four positions vacant). He and committee members discussed recruitment and retention challenges: wages and housing affordability are constraints on hiring; the departmental retirement and benefits system remain attractive but favor long tenure. The department is expanding academy classes for state police and using cross‑agency employees and incentive payments to staff winter maintenance (he described a volunteer‑style program where employees with CDLs are paid overtime and a winter incentive, roughly $5,000, to assist during storms).
Rodrigue also described the agency’s brining program (pretreatment in selected corridors under specific weather conditions), explained inflation and escalation distinctions in the department’s 10‑year plan, and said DOT uses national and internal construction cost indices to inform planning but that material and labor anomalies since COVID have exceeded typical inflation assumptions.
Committee members asked about airport federal eligibility, public transit pass‑through funds, the number of bridges and the department’s vehicle auction receipts; DOT staff said most airport funding is federal pass‑through and that the department can provide lists of airports that receive federal aid versus those that do not. Rodrigue acknowledged staffing pressures and said the department prioritizes safety‑critical work when resources are constrained.
