A Q&A With TxDOT Executive Director Amadeo Saenz

By Mary Lou Jay

Amadeo Saenz was appointed as the executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation on September 27, 2007. The 51-year-old previously served as TxDOT’s assistant executive director for engineering operations, where he was instrumental in implementing new TxDOT’s strategies for transportation funding.

Amadeo Saenz, (Photo courtesy of TxDOT)

TXC: TxDOT is facing some tough challenges: infrastructure problems, road congestion, increased costs, and limited funding. What are your goals for the department during this difficult period?

Saenz: The department still is focused on several goals. We want to reduce congestion and improve safety. We want to promote economic opportunity. We want to make sure and I think this is one of the most important goals that we preserve the asset value of the system. We need to make sure that we maintain our 79 thousand miles of road that we currently have open to traffic here in the state of Texas.

TXC: What do you consider the biggest transportation challenge for Texas citizens and businesses?

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Saenz: I think the biggest challenge is that we have an aging infrastructure that needs to be maintained. We also have a tremendous population growth that’s coming into the state of Texas. It’s been said that about 1,000 people move into state of Texas every day. That population growth will put a tremendous burden on our existing transportation system, and on the need to expand the system. 

Somehow we have to have a balance between adding lanes and making sure that we’re maintaining what we have so that we don’t lose so much ground that it will cost us in the future.

TXC: How do you balance those needs when you’re allotting money for projects?

Saenz: The first thing that I’m going to look at and recommend is how much do I need to preserve our system. I’m going to look at where I can save money in what we’re doing, and then prioritize so that we can address the best added capacity projects in the state. We’re going to work with our local elected officials so they can help us identify their highest priorities, so that we can make sure that we’re putting the little resources that we have available for added capacity in the right places.

But first and foremost, we need to make sure that we are setting aside enough money so that we do not lose our existing transportation system.

TXC: What are the biggest problems that TxDOT as a department is facing now?

Saenz: I think the problems all stem down in that the revenue sources that we have both the reliability of those sources and the amount that we’re collecting right now does not allow us to address the needs that we have.

We also had some tools that were given to us by the Legislature that would allow us to bring in some private equity or private investment to solve some of those problems. This past legislative session, that was, in essence, put on hold for two years. So now we can’t move forward on projects that we were hoping to be able to do, using the model of private equity, where we would bring in a concession or private money to help us solve some of those problems.

TXC: Have you discontinued work on all public/private partnership projects?

Saenz: Additional projects that we had identified but had not started have been put on hold. We will continue to do some of the planning for those projects, but it costs money to do the planning, and if for some we are not able to retain or get back some of the tools, those projects may not be built. 

The good thing is that the most of  the projects that were already under development under the public/private partnership model that we had were exempt from this two-year moratorium. What we’re trying to do now is take those projects forward so that we can show the legislature how the tools actually work and how they will provide a solution for solving some of the transportation problems. 

TXC: Do you think you’ll be able to turn around some of the Legislature’s objections?

Saenz: The Legislature had some concerns about private equity and the potential for private equity to make a lot of profit. The Legislature also had concerns with respect to non-compete clauses, that we couldn’t build other needed roadway infrastructure because we had a private operator operating a toll road. There was some concern from the legislature that we would not be able to terminate or buy those contracts back.

So those are some of the issues that I think we need to sit down and present to the committee, and explain to them how we are addressing those concerns. [The bill putting a moratorium on private/public partnerships also set up a committee to study them.]

I think this also gives us the opportunity to show them the level of resources, the level of money that we see coming into the department over the next few years as well as the funds that are needed to address this traffic congestion, to address the transportation needs for the next few years. We can show that this public/private model, this equity model, is an important tool to have in the toolbox.

TXC: How will the passage of Proposition 12 affect TxDOT funding and operations?

Saenz: Proposition 12 is a constitutional amendment giving the legislature authority to issue up to $5 billion in general obligation bonds for transportation projects. We don’t have enabling legislation, so we have to wait until the next session for the legislature to meet.

If it [enabling legislation] passes, then we can start planning the scenarios of what needs we could address. That will not solve our transportation needs for the state; it would, in essence, take a little bit off the top.

TXC: What kind of funding would you need to solve all of the state’s transportation problems?

Saenz: We had done some early estimates that our needs for the next 25 years are somewhere between $70 and $100 billion. And that number is mainly new construction. If you add the maintenance to that, you will probably have to double or maybe even triple that number.

TXC: Is TxDOT looking at other sources of funding (besides the state gas tax) to get more money for transportation?

Saenz: TxDOT had been working with the Legislature through the years, and we were happy that we got the tools, the ability to build toll roads and that we had the ability to bring in private equity. So the first thing that we want to do is make sure that we restore everything that we had received over the past few years.

One of the things that we may want to look at in the future and this is just an idea is a different way of collecting the gas tax. Several states are doing pilot projects now where they’re collecting based on usage, on how many miles a person drives and where they drive. You can even look at the possibility of different vehicles of different sizes paying different rates based on the damage that they cause to the system.

TXC: Any words for the state’s construction industry? 

Saenz: In a nutshell, we’re going through some challenging times because our resources are limited and our needs are great. We’re trying to find all the different tools that we can use to be able to address those needs. We encourage the construction industry to be with us, to propose on our projects, to be competitive so that we can build the best infrastructure possible.