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June 2007 — Vol. 85, No. 5

CAPITOL REPORTER

Governor wants ‘whole new DOT’

 

Gov. M. Jodi Rell has called for a top-to-bottom reorganization and refocusing of the state Department of Transportation (DOT) in light of irregularities uncovered in the
I–84 expansion project in the Waterbury-Cheshire area.

“I want a more responsive, more responsible DOT, and a DOT that will continue to broaden its focus beyond highways,” Gov. Rell said. “The I–84 failure was unfortunately the latest in a series of irregularities and problems at DOT that point to the need for cultural and organizational change.”

Gov. Rell is forming a working group of business, transportation and organizational experts to work with consulting firm J.R. Knowles USA/Hill International to implement change at the DOT. The group will be charged with examining and redesigning the agency, its mission, direction, business practices and organizational structure in order to propose recommendations.

The working group will be chaired by Michael Critelli, executive chairman of Stamford-based Pitney Bowes. Kevin Kelleher, president and CEO of Danbury-based Cendant Mobility Services Corp. and chair of the state’s Transportation Strategy Board, will serve on the working group, as will Linda Yelmini, a labor and government organization expert who is the former commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Administrative Services. Other individuals with business, transportation and responsible-growth experience will be named to the group as well.

After the I–84 drainage problems were discovered, the governor hired J.R. Knowles USA/Hill International to conduct an operational audit of the road project. The consultants’ draft report details serious flaws in oversight procedures and other operational and organizational deficiencies within the DOT. The contract between the consulting company and the state’s Office of Policy and Management will be extended to enable the firm to work with the new task force to develop recommendations to shape the future DOT.

“At the end of this process, we will have a whole new DOT — a DOT that will be better structured to manage the expansive and important transportation projects we are initiating all over the state, and a DOT that will better serve the evolving transportation needs of our commuters, our economy and our future,” said Gov. Rell.