Oklahoma Department of Transportation

Oklahoma Department Of Transportation

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) is an agency of the government of Oklahoma responsible for the construction, maintenance, and regulation the use of the state's transportation infrastructure. Under the leadership of the Oklahoma Secretary of Transportation, the Department maintains public infrastructure that includes rail lines, state highways, state seaports and state airports. Along with the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority, the Department is the primary infrastructure construction and maintenance agency of the State.

ODOT is led by a State Transportation Commission, composed of nine members appointed by the Governor of Oklahoma with the approval of the Oklahoma Senate. The Commission in turn appoints a Director, who serves as the executive head of the Department. The current Director of ODOT is Gary Ridley who also serves as the Secretary of Transportation, as appointed by Governor Brad Henry in 2009.

The Department was created in 1976 during the term of Governor David L. Boren. It superseded the Department of Highways, which was established in 1911.

The Department of Transportation's mission statement is "The mission of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation is to provide a safe, economical and effective transportation network for the people, commerce and communities of Oklahoma."

Read more about Oklahoma Department Of Transportation:  History, Overview, Leadership, Organization, Supporting Agencies

Famous quotes containing the words oklahoma and/or department:

    I know only one person who ever crossed the ocean without feeling it, either spiritually or physically.... he went from Oklahoma to France and back again ... without ever getting off dry land. He remembers several places I remember too, and several French words, but he says firmly, “We must of went different ways. I don’t rightly recollect no water, ever.”
    M.F.K. Fisher (1908–1992)

    “Which is more important to you, your field or your children?” the department head asked. She replied, “That’s like asking me if I could walk better if you amputated my right leg or my left leg.”
    —Anonymous Parent. As quoted in Women and the Work Family Dilemma, by Deborah J. Swiss and Judith P. Walker, ch. 2 (1993)