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Idaho Transportation
Department

Public Affairs Office
P.O. Box 7129
Boise, ID 83707
208.334.8005
Fax: 208.334.8563
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Missouri engineer explains new concept –
Practical Design

The Missouri Department of Transportation shares the same problem as many state transportation departments – more needs than money. However, MODOT’s chief engineer believes that his department has found a way to attack the problem through what he terms Practical Design.

Kevin Keith told a group of about 50 ITD engineers and staff members assembled at Headquarters on Thursday (May 24) that MODOT’s approach to managing its highway program has changed.

Through a Practical Design initiative MODOT has chosen to concentrate resources on building a great “system” over great “projects.”
“We are moving from managing means and methods to performance specifications,” Keith said.

“This has been a real change in culture,” he said, adding the benefits of attacking the problem differently are paying off -- $5.3 billion worth of work delivered within .03 percent of Missouri’s STIP since 2002.

By radically controlling costs, maximizing competition and seeking innovation at every opportunity, MODOT has moved perception of the condition of its roads from 39 percent positive to 74 percent positive in two years. MODOT is responsible for about 32,000 miles of interstate and state highways and is ranked 47th in revenue per mile to deal with the system.

“The public loves it,” he said. “Seventy-nine percent of news editorials are positive.”
Keith said that radical cost control is most crucial to success. “This is the only part of the equation we can control with the money we have.”

The decision to build “Chevys” instead of “Cadillacs” has given MODOT districts more money to tackle more projects. “Sometimes good enough is better than best,” he said.
While the department’s engineers have more control over how money is spent in their individual districts, the department’s Practical Design initiative is clear about the ground rules for contractors and their work.

First, safety will not be compromised: “Every project we do will make the facility safer after its completion.”

Second, collaboration and cooperative partnerships will be encouraged and rewarded.
Finally, the designed speed will equal the posted speed: “We will not design a road for 70 mph when it will be posted 60 mph.”

By challenging district engineers to build good, not great, in order to control costs, MODOT has saved 10 percent on STIP projects – money returned to each district for additional project work.

Published 5-25-07