The
Georgia Department of Transportation (
GDOT) is the organization in charge of developing and maintaining all state and federal roadways in the state of
GeorgiaGeorgia is a state in the United States. One of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution, it had been the last of the Thirteen Colonies to be established, in 1733. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January...
. In addition to
highwayA highway is a main road for travel by the public between important destinations, such as cities and states. Highway designs vary widely and can range from a two-lane road without margins to a multi-lane, grade separated motorway. In English and U.S...
s, the department also has a limited role in developing public transportation and
general aviationGeneral aviation is one of two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...
programs. GDOT is headquartered in
downtownDowntown Atlanta is the first and largest of the three financial districts in the city of Atlanta. Downtown Atlanta is the location of many corporate or regional headquarters, city, county, state and federal government facilities, sporting facilities, and is the central tourist attraction of the city...
AtlantaAtlanta is the capital and most populous city in the state of Georgia, as well as the urban core of one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the United States....
and is part of the executive branch of
state governmentThe state government of Georgia is the U.S. state governmental body established by the Georgia State Constitution. It is a republican government with three branches: the legislature, executive, and judiciary...
.
GDOT has broken up the state of Georgia into seven districts in order to facilitate regional development.
The
Georgia Department of Transportation (
GDOT) is the organization in charge of developing and maintaining all state and federal roadways in the state of
GeorgiaGeorgia is a state in the United States. One of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution, it had been the last of the Thirteen Colonies to be established, in 1733. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January...
. In addition to
highwayA highway is a main road for travel by the public between important destinations, such as cities and states. Highway designs vary widely and can range from a two-lane road without margins to a multi-lane, grade separated motorway. In English and U.S...
s, the department also has a limited role in developing public transportation and
general aviationGeneral aviation is one of two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...
programs. GDOT is headquartered in
downtownDowntown Atlanta is the first and largest of the three financial districts in the city of Atlanta. Downtown Atlanta is the location of many corporate or regional headquarters, city, county, state and federal government facilities, sporting facilities, and is the central tourist attraction of the city...
AtlantaAtlanta is the capital and most populous city in the state of Georgia, as well as the urban core of one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the United States....
and is part of the executive branch of
state governmentThe state government of Georgia is the U.S. state governmental body established by the Georgia State Constitution. It is a republican government with three branches: the legislature, executive, and judiciary...
.
GDOT has broken up the state of Georgia into seven districts in order to facilitate regional development. Each district is responsible for the planning, design, construction and maintenance of the state and federal highways in their region.
Origins
An act of the Legislature created the
State Highway Department on August 16, 1916. Two years later, in 1918, the creation of the State Highway Department was followed by creation of the
Georgia State Highway Commission, which made surveys and oversaw plans for road projects in Georgia. Finally, in 1972, it was followed by the creation of the Georgia Department of Transportation.
Department management
Georgia DOT is governed by a 13-member State Transportation Board that is elected by the
Georgia General AssemblyThe Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, being composed of the Georgia House of Representatives and the Georgia Senate....
for a five-year term and is headed by a commissioner chosen from among the board members. The board's powers include designating which public roads are encompassed within the state highway system; approving long-range transportation plans; overseeing the administration of construction contracts; and authorizing lease agreements. Offices within the board, other than Commissioner, are Deputy Commissioner; Chief Engineer and Treasurer.
The Georgia Department of Transportation has several different divisions. They include:
- Division of Administration
- Chief Engineer
- Communications Division
- Division of Construction
- Division of Equal Employment Opportunity
- Division of Field Districts
- Division of Information Technology
- Division Legal Services
- Division of Operations
- Division of Planning, Data & Intermodal Development
- Division of Preconstruction
- Special Staff
- Treasurer
Possible reorganization
In
February 2009February 2009 was the second month of the current year. It began on a Sunday and ended after 28 days on a Saturday.Inasmuch as the month of February in non-leap years is exactly four weeks long: in years when it commences on Sunday, all western calendars designating Sunday as the first day of the...
, Governor
Sonny PerdueSonny Perdue is the governor of the U.S. state of Georgia. Upon his inauguration in January 2003, he became the first Republican governor of Georgia since Benjamin F. Conley served during Reconstruction in the 1870s....
,
Lieutenant GovernorThe Lieutenant Governor of Georgia is a constitutional officer of the state, elected to a 4-year term by popular vote. Unlike some states, the lieutenant governor is elected on a separate ticket from the state Governor....
Casey CagleLowell S. "Casey" Cagle is an American politician currently serving as the 11th lieutenant governor of Georgia. He is a member of the Republican Party, a Conservative, and a former member of the General Assembly in the U.S. state of Georgia. In 2006, Cagle defeated political activist Ralph...
, and Speaker of the House
Glenn RichardsonGlenn Richardson is the current Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives, in the U.S. state of Georgia.-Early life:Richardson was born in Douglas County, Georgia, where he graduated from Douglas County High School in 1978...
announced a plan that would remove almost all authority from GDOT and the legislature and put it under themselves in a new State Transportation Authority. This would merge the
Georgia Regional Transportation AuthorityThe Georgia Regional Transportation Authority or GRTA is a government agency in the U.S. state of Georgia...
(GRTA) and
State Road and Tollway AuthorityThe State Road and Tollway Authority is a government agency of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is responsible for financing transportation initiatives and operating the state's only current toll road, the Georgia 400 extension. SRTA collects tolls on the southern portion of the expressway, at a...
(SRTA) together, leaving GDOT only to maintain roads. (Eliminating GDOT entirely would require an
amendmentA constitutional amendment is a change to the constitution of a nation or a state. In jurisdictions with "rigid" or "entrenched" constitutions, amendments require a special procedure different from that used for enacting ordinary laws.-Referendum:...
to the state constitution.) On February 26, the GDOT board retaliated against chairwoman Gena Evans (who had been picked by Perdue) by firing her.
The state previously had a system under the governor rather than the legislature, in which he could (and often did) withhold highway funds from
electoral districtAn electoral district is a distinct region for holding a separate election for one or more seats in a legislative body. Not all political systems use separate districts to conduct elections; Israel and The Netherlands, for instance, conduct parliamentary elections using a single, nationwide district...
s represented by his political opponents. This system of
political corruptionPolitical corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
and
paybackPayback may refer to:*Payback period, the period of time required for the return on an investment*Revenge*Payback , a 1999 movie remake of the 1967 film Point Blank, starring Mel Gibson...
was
reformReform means beneficial change, or sometimes, more specifically, reversion to a pure original state.to reform somethingReform is generally distinguished from revolution. The latter means basic or radical change; whereas reform may be no more than fine tuning, or at most redressing serious wrongs...
ed in 1963.