Your favorite/least favorite state DOT?

[Max Rockatansky]

Best: TxDOT, WISDOT, INDOT, and ADOT.

TxDOT: World-class infrastructure, four and five level stack interchanges, frontage roads, etc.
WISDOT: Roundabouts, stack interchanges, and massive reconstruction and widening projects (i.e. I-94 North-South, I-39/90, etc.), four-lane freeways/expressways to major cities
ADOT: Best freeway system (Phoenix), stack interchanges, crazy mountain roads
INDOT (my home state): freeway closures in a major city (Indianapolis), roundabouts

Worst: ODOT (Oklahoma), IDOT, PennDOT, and RIDOT
ODOT: Signs are goofy, unimpressive interchanges, etc.
IDOT: Terrible roads and terrible bridges (except for the ISTHA)
PennDOT: Narrow (literally everything)
RIDOT: Worst bridges and worst roads that I've ever driven on

One big knock I have with ADOT is the often sissy speed limits out on twisty mountain State Highways.  The fact that ADOT thinks anyone is sticking to 25 MPH at places like US 191 on the Coronado Trail is laughable. 

[Rothman]

Regarding NCDOT, their top brass just got furloughed and the blame for budget woes has fallen to them.

[thenetwork]

CDOT in Colorado is definitely one of the better ones.

- They do a heck of a job keeping the mountain roads passable/open in the winter.
- Speed Limits are very generous, and they like to keep slower speed limit areas brief (example:  If a relatively straight road has a curvy section,  they will usually sign the more dangerous section at a slower speed for about a half mile before and after).
- The CDOT-Maintained interstate and non-interstate highways are usually in good shape, surface-wise.

They could do a little better on signing routes -- at intersections, on interstate paralleling routes, and on overlaps of more than one route.  And they could make listing of statewide construction projects, especially those planned later in the year, a little easier online.

[ozarkman417]

[zzcarp]

CDOT in Colorado is definitely one of the better ones.

- They do a heck of a job keeping the mountain roads passable/open in the winter.
- Speed Limits are very generous, and they like to keep slower speed limit areas brief (example:  If a relatively straight road has a curvy section,  they will usually sign the more dangerous section at a slower speed for about a half mile before and after).
- The CDOT-Maintained interstate and non-interstate highways are usually in good shape, surface-wise.

They could do a little better on signing routes -- at intersections, on interstate paralleling routes, and on overlaps of more than one route.  And they could make listing of statewide construction projects, especially those planned later in the year, a little easier online.

There are two CDOTS in Colorado. The one outside the metro area does do a great job with their mountain roads, and you can always feel safe following the posted limits on any winding mountain road. Though, sometimes it occurs that they are micromanaging the speed limits as you approach intersections, etc.

The Denver metro area is another story. Quite frequently State Highways are in worse condition than the city arterial streets, especially with regards to snow removal. They also make inexplicable decisions when they do major projects where they leave the biggest bottlenecks in place and make questionable design decisions. One example is the mid-2010s reconstruction of US 36: reverse superelevation on exit ramps, few auxiliary lanes, keeping the lane imbalance east of CO 95/Sheridan Boulevard (2+HOT EB, 3+HOT WB), then dropping HOT and GP into two lanes at Pecos before I-25.

I do have a big gripe on the route signage, especially the US routes. Try following US 6, US 40, US 24, US 36, or US 85 across the state by the signs, and you'll never figure it out. US 85 even has an orphaned section north of Fountain that rejoins I-25 AT AN OVERPASS WITH NO EXIT. There are also state routes with odd orientation changes that no one would follow from end to end (CO 88, CO 30, CO 54). It's obvious that route continuity is not a priority.

And, the legislature enacted a tax ("fee") on registration renewals ostensibly for bridges back in 2013. CDOT instead used it to fund subsidized bus service from Fort Collins to the Springs. Every time you see a "Bustang" bus, that's a bridge driving down the road.

[wanderer2575]

Outside a bar in Hell, Michigan:

[Flint1979]

Outside a bar in Hell, Michigan:

They should just put Deteriorating Roads next 400 miles under the Welcome to Pure Michigan sign. I hate how they have the word Pure on those signs.

[Flint1979]

Best: I like MDOT not being biased but they do a great job with signage. There are some highways that need work but for the most part MDOT does a good job. The main highways that I have a problem with are the two lane sections of I-69, I-94, US-23 and I-75 between the south end of I-475 and the US-23 split and again in Bay County.

I also like I should say love TxDOT.
Love the speed limits and frontage roads.

Worst: IDOT should say IDIOT. Refusal of freeway extension's from Wisconsin. Terrible roads, stupid control cities using states over cities, stupid design on many Chicago expressways. IDOT is a joke.

[Max Rockatansky]

Best: I like MDOT not being biased but they do a great job with signage. There are some highways that need work but for the most part MDOT does a good job. The main highways that I have a problem with are the two lane sections of I-69, I-94, US-23 and I-75 between the south end of I-475 and the US-23 split and again in Bay County.

I also like I should say love TxDOT.
Love the speed limits and frontage roads.

Worst: IDOT should say IDIOT. Refusal of freeway extension's from Wisconsin. Terrible roads, stupid control cities using states over cities, stupid design on many Chicago expressways. IDOT is a joke.

MDOT does do some really nice sign assemblies.  However, I doubt that they will be among anyone's favorite given how bad the State Trunkline System got at the start of the century.  Pure Potholes didn't pop up in a vacuum.

[CNGL-Leudimin]

Taking a different view here .

Worst: MDOT, NDOT, ODOT. I've mentioned 8 DOTs in total, but just 3 initials. Therefore, one needs to disambiguate between them (Maryland/Michigan/Mississippi, Nebraska/Nevada, all O states). At least IDOT is not idiot in this regard.

Best: Caltrans, ITD, KYTC, VTrans. All four avoid the use of DOT, and thus have a distinctive feeling. Idaho takes one step further and reverses the terms "Department" and "Transportation". Kentucky goes even further by not using the word "Department" at all, instead calling it the "Transportation Cabinet".

[hbelkins]

Kentucky goes even further by not using the word "Department" at all, instead calling it the "Transportation Cabinet".

That's the structure of all executive branch government agencies in Kentucky. I think the Cabinet structure came into existence in the early 1980s. At one time, there was a level called "Bureau."

Kentucky has a number of departments, including the Department of Highways, within the Transportation Cabinet.

Kentucky has a Secretary of the Executive Cabinet position that typically oversees the Cabinet secretaries.

Here are our subdivisions and the titles of the leaders.

Cabinet-secretary
Department-commissioner
Division or office-director or executive director

The three above are politically-appointed positions. Those below them are career civil service positions
Branch-manager
Section-supervisor
Unit-supervisor

In KYTC's case, each maintenance garage is a unit but the supervisor is known as a superintendent (commonly called foreman) instead of a supervisor.

[kphoger]

I also like I should say love TxDOT.
Love the speed limits and frontage roads.

Since when does the DOT set the speed limits?

[sprjus4]

https://www.txdot.gov/government/enforcement/speed-limits/setting.html

Texas law requires that speed limits on state roadways be set at the state maximum, unless traffic and engineering studies show a need to alter a speed limit for safety reasons.

Maximum Speed Limit

The law sets the maximum at 70 mph, but allows the Texas Transportation Commission to establish a maximum speed limit of 75 mph (80 mph or 85 mph if the highway is designed to accommodate that speed) on the highway system if that speed is determined to be safe and reasonable after a traffic or engineering study. A maximum speed limit of 80 mph within 10 counties on Interstate 10 and Interstate 20 is also permitted.

City governments and TxDOT must conduct traffic and engineering studies according to requirements outlined in TxDOT's publication, Procedures for Establishing Speed Zones, when setting a speed limit on the state highway system. Speed limits on state highways may be set by the Commission or by a city if the highway is within city limits.

Jurisdiction

Citizen requests for speed zone studies on highways should be made to the TxDOT district office with jurisdiction over the roadway.

TxDOT only has jurisdiction over setting speed limits on the state highway system. Questions about speed limits on city streets or county roads should be directed to the transportation departments of these local governments.

Every state maintained roadway is required to have a 70 mph posted speed limit unless a traffic engineering study indicates otherwise. This includes anything from a 2-lane road to an interstate highway.

[ibthebigd]

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet doesn't do a good job of communicating new projects

I saw they were going to straighten US 127 in southern Kentucky but couldn't find a website of good information.

I contacted them on Facebook and couldn't get anymore information.

This is a $125 million dollar project

INDOT would have had a decent webpage with good information.

SM-G950U

[CapeCodder]

Favorite: KYTC

Least: Modot, Idot, and MassHighway

[Ketchup99]

PennDOT has to be in the running for one of the worst. Everything is expensive (no wonder we're broke), projects are never built (around where I live an eight-mile freeway has taken 20 years to build and isn't done yet), speed limits are typically Northeastern (55 and 65 are still common on rural freeways) and highways are narrow to the extent that when I drove the Merritt Parkway for the first time, my dad (who's from the area) warned me about how narrow the road was and I had to ask "when does the narrow part start" the entire way.

[STLmapboy]

PennDOT has to be in the running for one of the worst. Everything is expensive (no wonder we're broke), projects are never built (around where I live an eight-mile freeway has taken 20 years to build and isn't done yet), speed limits are typically Northeastern (55 and 65 are still common on rural freeways) and highways are narrow to the extent that when I drove the Merritt Parkway for the first time, my dad (who's from the area) warned me about how narrow the road was and I had to ask "when does the narrow part start" the entire way.

Do you mind me asking what the name of the freeway under construction is?
I agree with your assessment of PennDOT. Sure, the infrastructure is old, but if you're going to put sky high tolls on the turnpike then you should be efficient in using that money.

[Thing 342]

NCDOT is probably my favorite, at least of the states I visit frequently:
Pros

• Willingness to invest in infrastructure upgrades and new freeways
• Good-looking, consistent signage with FHWA alphabets
• Well-surfaced roads (though that's more thanks to the lack of a winter freeze, but whatever)
• Most of the crappy interstate sections have active or upcoming improvement projects to fix issues

Cons

• Work zone speed limits that stretch well beyond the actual area of work being done
• Illogical control city choices
• Some bad interchange design choices on urban freeways

I'm meh-to-negative on VDOT, but it's possible that I just experience more of their flaws than other DOTs:
Pros

• Very well-surfaced roads, easily the best in the region
• Well-done signage (at least in regions where VDOT does signage work), especially considering all of the secondary routes running around.
• Good snow preparedness (for the region)
• I-295

Cons

• Absolutely glacial pace of upgrades to core infrastructure outside of Northern Virginia. Stuff that has been a known problem for years and years getting bogged down for years in studies and funding disputes (I-81, I-64 Richmond to Newport News, I-95 Fredericksburg to Woodbridge).
• Insistence on building most new infrastructure as tolled/HOT facilities, such as the HRBT expansion and the High-Rise Bridge replacement.
• Repeatedly selling its soul to private tolling operators, leading to debacles like the ERC scandals, VA-895, the Transurban non-competes, and the failed US-460 project.
• Devotion to qualitative metrics like Smart Scale leading to a (perception of) bias towards Northern Virginia.

My worst would probably have to go to MDSHA, which in addition to most of the problems with VDOT listed above, also adds:

• Stupidly low speed limits, often enforced by speed cameras
• Bad highway maintenance
• Bad / unreliable signage

---

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet doesn't do a good job of communicating new projects

I saw they were going to straighten US 127 in southern Kentucky but couldn't find a website of good information.

I contacted them on Facebook and couldn't get anymore information.

This is a $125 million dollar project

INDOT would have had a decent webpage with good information.

SM-G950U

I'll concur with this opinion; It's super difficult to find construction info on the Kentucky section of Corridor Q, despite it being a ~$500M+ project.

[Ketchup99]

PennDOT has to be in the running for one of the worst. Everything is expensive (no wonder we're broke), projects are never built (around where I live an eight-mile freeway has taken 20 years to build and isn't done yet), speed limits are typically Northeastern (55 and 65 are still common on rural freeways) and highways are narrow to the extent that when I drove the Merritt Parkway for the first time, my dad (who's from the area) warned me about how narrow the road was and I had to ask "when does the narrow part start" the entire way.

Do you mind me asking what the name of the freeway under construction is?

It's the so-called "missing link" in US-322 between State College and Potters Mills. The idea of the freeway connector (US-322 is freeway east of there to Harrisburg) is extremely old, but funding was pulled from a prior commitment in 2004. The project was funded via Act 89 in 2014, and the estimate is completion will be in 2031.

[sprjus4]

• I-295

They need to build an I-295 along VA-207 / US-301 to US-50. I-97 Southern Extension, 6 lanes throughout, 8 lanes north of Waldorf.

The existing I-295 is easily the best designed interstates in the state. The 8 lane portion only carried 30,000 AADT until the 1990s, and even today with 80,000 AADT, never any problems. The 6 lane portion only carries around 30,000 AADT, never any problems.

At the same time, they decide to construct the last leg of the Hampton Roads Beltway (I-664) as a 4 lane freeway, it carries close to 100,000 AADT today, and is a bottleneck. If they were using the I-295 model, I-664 should've been 8 lanes from I-64 to VA-164, including an 8 lane MMMBT, and 6 lanes south to Bowers Hill. They built I-464 between I-64 and VA-337 (reduces to 4 lanes before I-264) to 6 lanes in the 1980s, and it carries only 50,000 AADT. Don't get me wrong, I certainly appreciate having 6 lanes leaving south out of Downtown Norfolk, but if only one could have it, I would've rather seen I-664 with 6 lanes instead of I-464.

[STLmapboy]

PennDOT has to be in the running for one of the worst. Everything is expensive (no wonder we're broke), projects are never built (around where I live an eight-mile freeway has taken 20 years to build and isn't done yet), speed limits are typically Northeastern (55 and 65 are still common on rural freeways) and highways are narrow to the extent that when I drove the Merritt Parkway for the first time, my dad (who's from the area) warned me about how narrow the road was and I had to ask "when does the narrow part start" the entire way.

Do you mind me asking what the name of the freeway under construction is?

It's the so-called "missing link" in US-322 between State College and Potters Mills. The idea of the freeway connector (US-322 is freeway east of there to Harrisburg) is extremely old, but funding was pulled from a prior commitment in 2004. The project was funded via Act 89 in 2014, and the estimate is completion will be in 2031.

Ah I say. On Google Maps it looks to be a 2 laner with virtually no construction started yet. This is like Penna's Brandenburg Airport.

[Ketchup99]

PennDOT has to be in the running for one of the worst. Everything is expensive (no wonder we're broke), projects are never built (around where I live an eight-mile freeway has taken 20 years to build and isn't done yet), speed limits are typically Northeastern (55 and 65 are still common on rural freeways) and highways are narrow to the extent that when I drove the Merritt Parkway for the first time, my dad (who's from the area) warned me about how narrow the road was and I had to ask "when does the narrow part start" the entire way.

Do you mind me asking what the name of the freeway under construction is?

It's the so-called "missing link" in US-322 between State College and Potters Mills. The idea of the freeway connector (US-322 is freeway east of there to Harrisburg) is extremely old, but funding was pulled from a prior commitment in 2004. The project was funded via Act 89 in 2014, and the estimate is completion will be in 2031.

Ah I say. On Google Maps it looks to be a 2 laner with virtually no construction started yet. This is like Penna's Brandenburg Airport.

Truly. The construction is slowly, slowly moving westward towards State College and leaving freeway in its place, but it's very slow progress...

[Roadgeekteen]

My favorite is NCDOT because they are not shy to assign interstate numbers.

[ChiMilNet]

Favorites (including tollway authorities):
- ISTHA (Illinois Tollway) - In the past 15 years, really have modernized and upgraded the tollways. I-90 Jane Adams Tollway is one of the best reconstructed stretches of Interstate I have seen. Other DOTs should look to ISTHA for how highway lighting and striping should be done.
- Ohio Turnpike - Long stretches at 6 lanes, nice and wide construction, decently lit at interchanges, nice service plazas
- SDDOT - Really, some of the best maintained highways I remember riding on, very well maintained, pavement in excellent condition
- TXDOT - Love the frontage road concept, huge interchanges, decent lighting, and higher speed limits

Least Favorites (including tollway authorities):
- MODOT - Appears to take a lot of shortcuts on construction, poorly lit highways (with some weird/ugly looking light poles), Interstate 70 across the state needs a major upgrade (especially through Columbia)
- OKDOT - Poorly maintained highways, inadequate system (US 69 should have been upgraded decades ago), less than stellar scenery in many spots
- MDDOT - Add some lanes on I-70, I-270, and I-495! Fix your lighting so it works in all places!
- PNDOT and Penn Turnpike - Pennsylvania just seems like it needs to take everything and start over! Doesn't matter if it's the turnpike or highways, they all are very inadequate and some of the poorest construction standards I have seen
- IN Toll Road - Went privatized and has been neglected ever since. Should be 6 lanes the whole way across.
- IDOT - Fix I-80 through Joliet, I-290 through the West Suburbs, I-55 on the SW Side/Suburbs (all need lane additions), and I-55 through Springfield. Coordinate some stoplights. Maybe use more similar construction standards that match the tollway. Although, does a decent job lighting up the roads at least.

[ilpt4u]

Least Favorites (including tollway authorities):
- IDOT - Fix I-80 through Joliet, I-290 through the West Suburbs, I-55 on the SW Side/Suburbs (all need lane additions), and I-55 through Springfield. Coordinate some stoplights. Maybe use more similar construction standards that match the tollway. Although, does a decent job lighting up the roads at least.

IDOT also needs to start getting rid of the Interstate-to-Interstate Cloverleaves. I-55@I-80 and I-290/IL 53@I-90 (with ISTHA cooperation) are at the top of the list that could use Full Stack upgrades, or another Flyover configuration