I’m
walking around a lot these days with a smile on my face.
It’s
been that way since May 11, when the Legislature passed the 10-year
transportation program T-WORKS. And I keep smiling because of the great things
this will allow us to do for Kansas: preserve our top-ranked highway system,
make needed safety improvements, allow the state to invest strategically in
economic opportunities, and support non-highway modes.
Just as importantly, it will create
or sustain an estimated 60,000 construction jobs and 175,000 total jobs
throughout the Kansas economy.
It
wasn’t easy to get the T-WORKS bill passed; legislation this big and complex
never is. But the fact that it passed in this tough but improving economic
climate makes the accomplishment even more exceptional.
I am so grateful for the leadership
of Governor Parkinson, who may have been the staunchest advocate for a new program. And I’m equally grateful to the majority of the Legislature who not
only supported the transportation bill, but also voted for the all-important
revenue bill, which provides the key funding. Many of those legislators cast
their votes knowing they were putting their political careers on the line. But
they put those concerns aside and voted to move the state and our economy
forward.
We
began building a case for this transportation program in 2003. That’s when we
initiated the Partnership Project and really got serious about examining our
own agency. We had to ask ourselves whether we were operating in a way that
both served the state and gave Kansans confidence that we could administer big
programs.
Of
course, we had successfully completed one program and were in the midst of a
second. But we were going to need a different approach for a third program. The CHP and CTP were appropriate for the time
and condition of our system. But we had evolved to the point where we needed to
be more strategic about how we invested. And we didn’t allow ourselves to fall
into the trap of thinking the same approach would guarantee future
success.
From
using economic analysis and local consultation when selecting projects, to
using practical improvement approaches to stretch our dollars, there’s an
expectation that T-WORKS won’t be business as usual at KDOT. Through the Partnership
Project, the Long-Range Transportation Plan and T-LINK (the Governor’s
transportation task force), Kansans and legislators expect KDOT to deliver the
best set of projects within a given budget in a collaborative and flexible way.
Of
course, the T-WORKS package wasn’t without detractors. There were those who
thought that because our road system was in good shape now, we could get by
without a new program. Others simply thought that the best way for the state to
grow was to cut services. I guarantee you that had such thinking prevailed, we
would have discovered just how quickly infrastructure can deteriorate if not
properly maintained.
We
wouldn’t be where we are right now without your hard work, and I want you to
know how much I appreciate it. We’ve built strong credibility across the state
– one interaction at a time – and that credibility is central to our success. A
new program, especially at this time, wouldn’t be possible if citizens and
legislators didn’t have high trust and respect for KDOT and the work we do
every day.
That’s
something to feel good about and I hope it puts a smile on your face, too.
Deb Miller
Kansas Secretary of Transportation
(Adapted from the June/July issue of Translines, KDOT's internal newsletter.)