Did you know that people's opinions matter when we start planning roads, deciding where to put them, how wide to make them and other issues? It's true. We talk to the public, politicians (you know, those guys in suits who talk into microphones) as well as groups who are used to planning these sorts of things. We think it's important to get all sorts of opinions before we go out and build a road, and even you could have a say in where and how we do it, right in your neighborhood and across the state.

Planning:
Building a road starts with a planning process, and the planning process starts with input from the public. We use this information to decide where new roads are needed and where they're not. Once we know what we want to build and where we want to build it, we take the plan to a group of people called the Transportation Commission to make sure they think it's a good idea too. After that the public gets another chance to decide if they think it's a good idea, and if they're still okay with it we get our money from the state, and go over the plans one more time before we can really get serious about building this thing. It's a long process, but we think it's really important to make sure everyone's happy with the results.

Building:
Building a road isn't just a matter of getting a bunch of construction guys out there with big trucks and heavy equipment. First we need to create a design for the project to make sure it looks as nice as possible and we even need to do an environmental study to make sure we won't be creating any problems for the environment or the wildlife in the area. Once we've done all of this and everything looks good, then it's time to roll up our sleeves and get to building a road.

Maintaining:
Once we've built a road it's important to keep it in good condition to keep everyone who uses it safe and to make sure we won't have to rebuild it anytime soon. That's why it's important that we work hard to keep the snow plowed, fill in potholes, keep the stripes well painted and make sure the signs are doing their jobs. It's a tough job, but someone's got to do it.