To comply with environmental regulations, the Department will begin the implementation of Best Management Practices by maintenance employees on a consistent statewide basis. The Department will maintain the new additions to the statewide highway system inventory, including additional signaled intersections, luminaries and signs, ramp meters, changeable message signs, highway advisory radio systems and camera systems.
Specialized equipment is necessary to accomplish traffic control duties.
A more efficient system will be developed within existing resources to automate the process. Each affected program will reduce its base operating costs to absorb increases in the support program to pay for the change. Reductions in maintenance on the state system include eliminating maintenance funding for the commute trip reduction program, eliminating some technical assistance to the regions, reducing equipment purchases, and extending the life of dump trucks, among other reductions. System Additions Highway inventory items that will be added to the system in the 2001-03 biennium will require maintenance. The business cost of maintenance requires additional resources to retain the current level of service of highway maintenance on the state system.