Editorial: New DOT

Enjoyed the opportunity to meet with N.C. Department of Transportation head Gene Conti on Tuesday, June 16, as he toured Greenville to update the community on the DOT reform efforts launched under Gov. Beverly Perdue. I liked him personally during the brief time we were able to converse, and I found him both a thoughtful and informed leader and one who seemed, on first impression, dedicated to changing how business is conducted at the DOT. I authored this editorial in response, and hope that his work and that of the DOT employees proves successful in overhauling an agency in dire need of reform.

Editorial: New DOT – Reform effort sees signs of success

Gov. Beverly Perdue wasted no time after taking office to deliver on a key campaign promise, signing an executive order reforming the operations of the N.C. Department of Transportation, as one of her first acts after taking the oath of office in January. She sought to remove politics from the process and increase accountability in an agency not historically distinguished by its efficiency.

Nearly six months since, the state DOT is operating more smoothly, more openly and with an ambitious scope that should afford citizens more confidence in its operations. While the state may be struggling to make ends meet economically, it is reassuring to see at least one aspect of government appears on a better track than before.

On her first full day at work as North Carolina’s chief executive, Perdue signed an order changing how the state prioritizes transportation projects, taking approval power from the Board of Transportation and placing it in the hands of DOT Secretary Gene Conti. Before his appointment to that position, Conti was a state and U.S. transportation administrator and brings management experience to a post that too often has lacked it.

That demonstrated a new approach to a department with a long history of inefficiency and political gamesmanship. Perdue’s determination to reform the board stemmed from improper activities by members who filed incorrect disclosure forms in 2008. But the history of questionable decisions by that agency goes back much further, when powerful allies of governors were rewarded with seats there.

Reforming that system and improving its efficiency will serve the state’s long-term interests. North Carolina faces the prospects of a crumbling infrastructure and a pressing need to modernize and upgrade both existing roadways and to improve mass transit options. It lacks the funding needed to complete loop roads around its major cities, to complete existing projects needed in places like the East and to create the type of high-speed rail network that can dramatically reduce congestion on major thoroughfares.

Equally important is the need for transparency and accountability. Visiting Greenville this week, Conti outlined how the Transportation Improvement Plan will be more realistic in its ambition and explained how projects would win approval on merit and need rather than political influence.

There is reason for confidence. Certainly the changes enacted are well intentioned and already appear promising, and Conti’s experience lends hope that the reform efforts will progress as planned.

Fixing the DOT will not solve all the state’s woes, but it is a welcome bit of positive news from Raleigh nonetheless.