The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) announced that the state’s annual budget now includes additional dedicated, recurring General Fund dollars for transportation. Specifically, $80 million in recurring and $1 billion in non-recurring funds will allow TDOT to accelerate, leverage, and add new projects to its fiscally constrained 10-Year Plan.
Governor Bill Lee stated, “Tennesseans and all who travel through our state will benefit from the historic infrastructure investments we’ve made in partnership with the General Assembly. I’m grateful for their partnership and willingness to strategically fund transportation projects without raising taxes or going into debt, and this 10-year plan is a bold approach to funding new projects while maintaining our aging infrastructure.”
The recurring General Fund dollars are made possible by reallocating a portion of the existing Tire Sales Tax revenue to TDOT. This approach increases TDOT’s ability to deliver a higher level of service across Tennessee without raising taxes.
The $1 billion non-recurring funding will be allocated to additional statewide projects, one-time investments in pavement and bridges, the Spot Safety Program, and funding into the State Infrastructure Fund for local partnership transportation investments. The $80 million in recurring dollars will support programs such as Pavement Preservation, Bridge Preservation, Mowing and Litter, Spot Safety, and Rural Service Patrol.
For more details, visit the official announcement: TDOT News Release.
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