Louisiana Senator Proposes 'Blowing Up' State's 'Dysfunctional' Transportation Department

Chairman of Louisiana's state Senate Finance Committee, Republican Bodi White, severely criticized the state's Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) Friday, according to the Associated Press.

With the state set to receive about $7 billion from the infrastructure package recently signed into law by President Joe Biden, the state discussed DOTD in a meeting of the state House and Senate joint budget committee.

"When I get into a system that doesn't work, the only thing I know to do is blow it up and start over," White said to DOTD Deputy Secretary Eric Kalivoda during the meeting, also calling the department "dysfunctional."

Lawmakers, including White, expressed their frustrations with the pace of construction projects in the state while reviewing the projects that received the $563 million in earlier federal aid.

Currently, Louisiana has a $15 billion backlog in projects including road and bridge repairs, as well as a future wish list of another estimated $15 billion for new bridges, interstate widening and other highway projects and repairs designed to address traffic problems.

Related to his "blow it up" comment, White said he wants the state legislature to evaluate the possibility of restructuring DOTD, citing specific projects that have been in the works for years and, he said, moved along too slowly even after receiving funding.

Another Republican, Representative Barry Ivey, said his constituents "don't trust y'all to get it done," and are skeptical DOTD will use the new federal money effectively and quickly.

In addition to money for roads and bridges, the $1 trillion infrastructure bill will send the state funding for public transit, broadband internet improvements, airports, upgrades to state water systems, risk management for hurricanes and other storms, and more.

For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below.

Lawmakers have sought to steer significantly more money to transportation projects in recent years, but have gotten frustrated with the pace of construction. They also have set aside hundreds of millions in oil spill recovery money for transportation.

Several lawmakers, mostly Republicans, criticized the agency as too laden with bureaucracy and too politicized in the selection of projects.

Kalivoda replied that only 5% of the department's budget covers administrative costs, and he said many of the projects that lawmakers criticized as politicized either were selected by legislators themselves or involved decisions made by the governor, not the department.

White was the most severe in his complaints, saying legislative leaders want to do a "major renovation" of the agency.

"You don't get anything done with the money we give you. It takes forever," he told Kalivoda.

White dismissed as "chump change" the new money Louisiana is expected to receive for roads and bridges from the federal bipartisan infrastructure bill championed by Biden and negotiated with input from Louisiana's U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, a Republican.

Kalivoda noted that of the $7 billion Louisiana is guaranteed to receive for highway and bridge work over the next five years, the state was expecting to receive $4.8 billion of that already through the traditional federal highway financing formula.

But he also pointed out that Louisiana will be able to compete for billions of dollars in other competitive grant programs that will be available.