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| Agency overview | |
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| Formed | 1913; 112 years ago (1913) |
| Jurisdiction | Arkansas Highway System |
| Headquarters | 10324Interstate 30,Little Rock,Arkansas 34°40′15.8″N92°22′57.8″W / 34.671056°N 92.382722°W /34.671056; -92.382722 |
| Employees | 3,693[Note 1] |
| Annual budget |  US$1,212,817,331[Note 2] |
| Agency executives |
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| Parent agency | Arkansas State Highway Commission |
| Child agency | |
| Website | ardot |
TheArkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT), formerly theArkansas Highway and Transportation Department, is agovernment department in theU.S. state ofArkansas. Its mission is to provide a safe, efficient, aesthetically pleasing and environmentally sound intermodal transportation system for the user.[2] The department is responsible for implementing policy made by theArkansas State Highway Commission, a board of officials appointed by theGovernor of Arkansas to direct transportation policy in the state. The department's director is appointed by the commission to hire staff and manage construction and maintenance on Arkansas's highways.
The primary duty of ARDOT is the maintenance and management of the over 16,000-mile (26,000 km)Arkansas Highway System. The department also conducts planning,public transportation, the State Aid County Road Program, theArkansas Highway Police, andFederal-Aid project administration.[1] Its headquarters are inLittle Rock.[3]
Central control of highway transportation in Arkansas began with the creation of the State Highway Commission by Act 302 of the 39th Arkansas General Assembly in 1913. The commission was made up of theArkansas Commissioner of State Lands and two other governor-appointed members. The commission was tasked with coordination roadway construction standards and route planning among the state's myriad county agencies and road improvement districts, and had little power or funding.[4] The situation was bad enough that the federal government, who had become involved in standardizing road construction, stopped sending federal highway dollars to Arkansas in 1923. An emergency session of the 44th Arkansas General Assembly enacted the Harrelson Road Law to meet federal requirements to receive funding. The act also reformed the Highway Commission into four members appointed from the state's agricultural districts by the governor, plus the Commissioner of State Lands (elected statewide) serving as chairman. The Highway Commission had purview over any road projects in the state meeting their standards. Given the ability to control where federal highway dollars were spent, the Highway Commission became very powerful, and subject to political and provincial interests.[4] This Commission became so powerful, the Commissioner of State Lands was unofficially referred to as the Highway Commissioner almost everywhere except official state documents.[5]
The "Highway" in AHTD's name was largely required by theArkansas Constitution which created theArkansas Highway Commission as its governing body; the Constitution still calls it the "State Highway Department", but the legislature added "and Transportation" to its name in 1977.[6] Many people in Arkansas continue to call it the "Highway Department" to this day.[citation needed]
On June 8, 2017, the AHTD announced that it would change its name and logo to the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT) effective July 31, 2017.[7]
For administrative purposes, ARDOT divided the state of Arkansas into 10 districts[8] supervised by district offices along with 75 county area maintenance headquarters and 31 resident engineer offices located across the state. Most districts covered multiplecounties. As a state agency, its central offices are located inLittle Rock, which is covered by District 6.[9]
| Name | Office | Region |
|---|---|---|
| District 1 | Wynne | Arkansas Delta |
| District 2 | Pine Bluff | Southeast Arkansas |
| District 3 | Hope | Southwest Arkansas |
| District 4 | Barling | Western Arkansas |
| District 5 | Batesville | EasternOzarks |
| District 6 | Little Rock | Central Arkansas |
| District 7 | Camden | South Arkansas |
| District 8 | Russellville | Arkansas River Valley |
| District 9 | Bellefonte | WesternOzarks |
| District 10 | Paragould | Northeast Arkansas |
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The ARDOT currently is divided into 27 divisions. Several of these divisions are administrative: Computer Services, Equipment and Procurement, Fiscal Services, Human Resources, Internal Audit, Legal, Maintenance, and Retirement. Others lead various aspects of highway construction design, construction, financing, planning or coordination. Divisions are further subdivided into Sections.
The Bridge Division contains six Sections: four of bridgedesign engineers, the Structural Inventory and Rating Section for existing bridges, and the Concrete & Steel Fabrication Section. Many of Arkansas's highway bridges are designed in-house by the relevant sections, with more complex or specialized bridges sometimes being bid out to consulting engineering firms.
The oldest state law enforcement agency in Arkansas, theArkansas Highway Police, is the Law Enforcement branch of ARDOT. Today, the Arkansas Highway Police is tasked with preserving and protecting the State and Federal Highways of Arkansas. The Highway Police is the second largest statewide law enforcement agency in Arkansas, behind only theArkansas State Police, with whom they share concurrent jurisdiction. The main focuses of the Highway Police is Size and weight regulation, Motor Carrier Enforcement, Hazardous Material enforcement, and lately,[timeframe?] drug interdiction. The Arkansas Highway Police also regulates and permits all oversize loads coming through Arkansas. The Highway Police operates a fleet of patrol units as well as a network ofWeigh Stations positioned on major highways through the state.
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