Annual budget US$ 402 million (2009) | Number of employees 3,578 | |
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Preceding agency State Highway Department Jurisdiction Arkansas State Government Agency executives Scott Bennett, Lorie Tudor, Emanuel Banks, Director, Deputy Director and COO, Deputy Director and Chief Engineer Child agency Arkansas Highway Police Headquarters Little Rock, Arkansas, United States Profiles | ||
The Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department (AHTD) is a government department in the U.S. state of Arkansas. Its mission is to provide a safe, efficient, aesthetically pleasing and environmentally sound intermodal transportation system for the user. It manages the state highway system and is actively involved with public transportation systems within the state such as with aid to individual county road systems. Its headquarters are in Little Rock.
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History
Originally started as a commission of three elected officials in 1913, the agency has since expanded over the years to include a director and five commissioners appointed by the governor as well as its powers to include full oversight into the planning, construction, and maintenance of Arkansas roads.
AHTD and the Nebraska Department of Roads are the only state transportation agencies in the United States whose name still refers to "highways" or "roads"; most others are now known as the "(name of state) Department of Transportation" after the U.S. Department of Transportation. The "Highway" in AHTD's name is largely required by the Arkansas Constitution which created the Arkansas 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. Many people in Arkansas continue to call it the "Highway Department" to this day.
Administration
For administrative purposes, AHTD has divided the state of Arkansas into 10 districts supervised by district offices along with 85 county area maintenance headquarters and 31 resident engineer offices located across the state. Most districts cover multiple counties. As a state agency, its central offices are located in Little Rock, which is covered by District 6.