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Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)

Traffic on I-35 could be a headache this weekend, because of work at Ben White Blvd. So TxDOT is making parts of the toll road network toll-free this Saturday to relieve the stress.
Image by Callie Hernandez for KUT News
Traffic on I-35 could be a headache this weekend, because of work at Ben White Blvd. So TxDOT is making parts of the toll road network toll-free this Saturday to relieve the stress.

Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)

The Texas Department of Transportation, or TxDOT, oversees Texas transportation and is headquartered in Austin. The Texas Legislature created the organization in 1917, although the agency has had several names throughout the past century.

TxDOT is run by a five-member commission and an executive director selected by the commission. Commission members are appointed by the governor, with the advice of the Texas Senate, and serve overlapping six-year terms.

The department is divided into 25 districts, each of which oversees construction and maintenance of state highways. Austin’s district includes Bastrop, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Gillespie, Hays, Lee, Llano, Mason, Travis and Williamson counties.

In Austin, the organization encompasses entities including Capital Metro; the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, known as CAMPO; the city’s transportation department; and the chamber of commerce. TxDOT organized the “Don’t Mess with Texas” anti-litter campaign, which began in 1986. Also, it runs the TxTag program, which bills drivers for highway tolls by scanning a sticker on the driver’s windshield at toll stations.

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