OCPA column: Private sector forces create a government success

Private sector forces create a government success By Jonathan Small After having been at the bottom of the barrel, Oklahoma now ranks in the top 10 for bridge conditions, according to the latest data from the Federal Highway Administration. That success is the result not of government, but primarily of private-sector forces. And similar improvement can be generated elsewhere by taking advantage of market forces and the benefits of competition. In 2004, nearly 1,200 of Oklahoma’s 6,800 highway bridges were considered structurally deficient. Today, only 86 highway bridges are considered structurally deficient, and each is already scheduled for improvements through the Oklahoma Department of Transportation’s Eight-Year Construction Plan. Increased funding was a component of that successful turnaround—but only one component. The more important factor was reliance on private-sector competition to generate improvement. How? The state’s eight-year road plan has an equal emphasis on performance and outcomes, along with funding. Notably, ODOT uses state funds to pay private entities to perform the work. That’s not a minor detail. Read more » by Jamison Faught - August 24, 2020 at 08:32PM

OCPA column: Private sector forces create a government success Click the title to read the entire article at Muskogee Politico