The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials recently released the latest episode in its “State DOT 2-Minute Update” video series; this one featuring the Oklahoma Department of Transportation.
[Above photo by AASHTO]
The video features Tim Gatz, Oklahoma DOT’s executive director, who talks about his department’s initiative to improve safety on over 5,000 miles of rural two-lane highways by adding safety shoulders to reduce high fatality and severe crash rates. Over the next eight years, 1,100 miles of these highways will be upgraded to address this critical safety concern in rural Oklahoma, he said.
In a related effort, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Build America Bureau recently issued three loans for up to $113.8 million to the Oklahoma Capital Improvement Authority on behalf of the Oklahoma DOT to improve rural road safety across 15 state counties.
Gatz – tapped by Governor Kevin Stitt (R) in January 2019 and confirmed by the Oklahoma Senate to lead the Oklahoma DOT in April 2019 – is also serving as chair of the AASHTO Committee on Funding and Finance, which provides insight into federal and state transportation fiscal issues.
“In a rural state like Oklahoma it is extremely important for us to really put a focus on safety areas like this,” explained Gatz in the video. “We’re going to do some good work around that.” Safety has been at the forefront of several key transportation initiatives over the past year in Oklahoma.
For example, in November 2023, Oklahoma became the first state in the nation to require a work zone and first responder safety course for teenage drivers. The new law will require all Oklahoma teens to complete the free Oklahoma Work Zone Safe and First Responder Safety online education course before applying for their intermediate driver license.
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