MDOT To Merge Or Close 8 Offices

DETROIT (WWJ) - The Michigan Department of Transportation has announced a series of cost-cutting moves. Among them: M-DOT will merge or close eight offices and leave many positions unfilled.

WWJ Newsradio 950 spoke with MDOT Director Kirk Steudle who said those are only part of a major streamlining process.

"We changed the bidding process for contractors and it saves us 10,000 pages of paper. So, there's a number of things that we're looking at across the board that says how do we do these better?"

Steudle said many of the positions left vacant after a series of retirements at the end of last year will remain unfilled.

"It all goes back to, you know, the Governor's message when he came in.  He said this is the perfect time. We've got the flexibility because we have this large vacancy rate, to really focus on how do we get leaner, how do we have a leaner government and how do we become more efficient," he said.

The downsizing will save MDOT an estimated $300,000 per year.  The Macomb and Port Huron transportation centers will merge, and a construction field office in Allen Park will close.

The department is working with 15 percent few employees than they had two years ago.