Volunteers and local leaders gathered with state officials to gain insight into the Tennessee Department of Transportation operations Tuesday during a Lenoir City Civitan Club meeting at First Baptist Church.

Commissioner John Schroer discussed steps that his office was taking to remain efficient in addressing road repairs and renovations amid growing demand and limited funds from the federal government.

He said starting in 2010, funding through the U.S. Highway Trust Fund had leveled off even as the state experienced higher needs in road repairs. The trend has continued through this year.

"In 2010, it's broke, which means there is no money in reserves," Schroer said while referring to a graphic. "There's no opportunity of getting money, and our required highways are going up as you see right there, and the trust fund additions, the money that's coming in is actually flat."

The state Department of Transportation has a budget of $1.8 billion, half of which is funded by the federal government.

Schroer said ongoing debt ceiling concerns in Washington were pinching the state's ability to address required highway renovations.

"If they start cutting, we’re going to start getting less and less dollars from the federal government, which means we're going to have less and less dollars, not only to build new things, but to actually repair what we have, and that’s really where our biggest concern is," he said.

He highlighted some positive statistics, noting that Tennessee has the third best roads in the nation. Meanwhile, the state's per capita spending is last. His office has embraced innovation and efficiency in repairing and building roads, including combining the maintenance and construction departments and using more efficient materials.

The state department also does not issue debt to pay its construction bills.

"We are a pay-as-you-go state and not a lot of people know that," Schroer said. "We pay no money in interest, and that means a lot of stuff, and it helps us do what we do, helps us be efficient, helps us spend less dollars per capita than any other state in the nation."

He said to keep the state from having to pay interest, his department often dices projects up into parts. A $90 million plan, for instance, might be divided into three $30 million projects.

"It does make it a little bit slower, and it does make it a little bit more expensive because we have to gear up for each and every project as we go forward, but it also keeps us out of debt," Schroer said, noting that he was determined not to take out debt on construction projects.

"I tell people I'm the 29th commissioner of transportation,” Schroer said. "The 28 that came before me were able to do this without debt. My legacy will not be that I was the first one to put debt (on the department), so I do not want that to happen."

W. Dale Hurst, Lenoir City administrator, asked Schroer about environmental constraints placed on the state and municipalities when attempting to get a construction projects approved.

"Is it too regulated?" Hurst asked.

"Yes," Schroer answered resoundingly, adding that because of the various federal guidelines that must be met, the state can build a road in a little less than 12 years.

"At some point and time the quality of human life outweighs the quality of nonhuman life, and we need to get past that a little bit," Schroer said.

County Road Department Superintendent Eddie Simpson asked about additional funding for county road construction.

Schroer said he deals with the same concerns at the state level, adding that of the $10 billion worth of construction projects under development, he can only fund $850 million per year.

"We know the counties are suffering," Schroer said. "Your job and my job are exactly the same. I just have more zeros behind my job. I mean really it's exactly the same. We struggle with the same things that you struggle with, and it's tough."