RIDOT reorganizes operations in effort to approach projects more efficiently

THE R.I. Department of Transportation has reorganized its operations to reflect a project-management approach to public works, and will emphasize more cost-effective techniques to maintain roads and bridges, including through more in-house work. Gov. Gina Raimondo described the department she inherited as dysfunctional, citing a lack of accountability. / COURTESY R.I. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
THE R.I. Department of Transportation has reorganized its operations to reflect a project-management approach to public works, and will emphasize more cost-effective techniques to maintain roads and bridges, including through more in-house work. Gov. Gina Raimondo described the department she inherited as dysfunctional, citing a lack of accountability. / COURTESY R.I. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

(Updated 11:34 a.m.)
PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Department of Transportation has reorganized its operations to reflect a project-management approach to public works, and will emphasize more cost-effective techniques to maintain roads and bridges, including through more in-house work.
The management reorganization, announced Wednesday, can be undertaken without legislative approval and does not require additional funds. It will allow the transportation agency, with or without additional revenue, to approach construction projects in a more efficient, methodical way, according to department Director Peter Alviti Jr.

The department and administration of Gov. Gina M. Raimondo are continuing to pursue RhodeWorks, the creation of a dedicated funding source through truck tolls, to support department operations, including bridge repair and replacement. But the changes do not require RhodeWorks to gain General Assemby approval, both Raimondo and Alviti said, speaking to reporters.

Raimondo said the department she inherited, on taking office in January, was in many ways dysfunctional.

“There was a lack of accountability. They weren’t using obvious, best practices,” she said. “It’s time to change the way we do business at the DOT. It’s time to fix it.”
Specific problems, she said, included the absence of project management in shepherding specific projects from design to completion. “One person needs to be accountable for every project. “So the projects are done on time and on budget.”
Some of the changes have required personnel changes, according to Alviti. He reported that four to five people in the department were dismissed, or retired in lieu of dismissal, following his appointment. In addition, three administrators have been placed on administrative leave.
For the first time, Alviti said, the department has a 10-year plan for improvements, which he said is the industry norm. Previously, the department had planned its improvements along four-year windows, and many projects in the design phase were continually recycled to future plans because there was no money available to proceed to construction.
“No connection between what was being planned, what was being designed, what was being built, to whether we had the funding to build,” Alviti said.
Alviti, who was appointed department director earlier this year, has already adopted another management reform within the department. Bridge and road repair projects are now prioritized for funds using “asset management” techniques. Under asset management, he said, repairs are made to bridges and other infrastructure before they’ve deteriorated to the point where more costly fixes are required. If this is done consistently, over time, maintenance costs are reduced.
Costs are four times higher for bridge reconstruction, for example, than preservation. The state has spent, in previous years, $679.32 per square foot to reconstruct bridges, compared with $502.65 per square foot for rehabilitation and $156.96 a square foot for preservation.
The department recently converted 40 administrative positions, which were unfilled, to maintenance jobs. It will be moving more work in-house, Alviti said, because it can be done more cost effectively than through independent contracts.
Contracts for line striping on roads, he said, for example, have cost Rhode Islanders $10 million. Comparable work has been completed by New Hampshire state crews for $1 million, he said.
In August, the state DOT assumed management of the Wickford Junction train station, in lieu of extending a contract for its operation. The move is expected to save the state $3.4 million, Alviti said.
The state DOT has prepared a 10-year project list in the event that RhodeWorks is approved. It also has another plan ready in the event no additional revenues are made available.
RhodeWorks will provide $900 million over a 10-year span for projects, allowing the state to reach 90 percent structural sufficiency for bridges within that time frame, according to the state.
Without the additional funds, the state will need 17 years to reach the 90 percent point, which is the federal minimum standard.

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