Due to federal staffing cuts, Arkansas and Mississippi FHWA offices merged; ARDOT budget updates discussed in state Highway Commission meeting. Wiley's performance as ARDOT director earned him a raise.
Arkansas Highway Commission seal
Arkansas is sharing a Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) office with Mississippi due to federal staffing cuts, the Arkansas Department of Transportation's chief of administration said June 18, 2025, during a state Highway Commission meeting.
The session also included the proposal and adoption of the department's proposed operating budget for state fiscal 2026 and a performance evaluation of Jared Wiley, director of the Arkansas transportation department (ARDOT).
According to a June 19, 2025, story in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, there also were updates on tariffs and paused grant funds, the latter of which is now said to be "under review" by the federal government.
As for FHWA cuts, the Arkansas office was reduced to eight staff members from about 19. Now, if ARDOT wants to speak with a FHWA representative, they may have to refer to the Jackson, Miss. office.
"Mississippi federal highways has teamed up with Arkansas federal highways and they're working together to deliver federal aid programs in those states," Wiley said in response to a question from Arkansas Highway Commission Chair Philip Taldo.
"Right now, things are moving along. They are a little slower sometimes, but not overall," he said, in answering a question from Keith Gibson, the commission's vice chair. "I think things will pick back up as we get into our groove."
According to Wiley, the Mississippi office is helping Arkansas with items pertaining to the environment and its division administrator is overseeing Arkansas staff.
Kevin Thornton, ARDOT's chief of administration and the one who announced the FHWA cuts during the meeting, said that the ability for individuals to communicate digitally will likely lessen any negative effects.
In his presentation to the commissioners, he said that paused grant funds have been released for other states, which is good news for Arkansas — one of the states that had not seen paused federal funding resume again. Certain federal infrastructure funding, like the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program, has been on hold since February 2025, the Democrat Gazette noted.
Thornton also found that tariffs have not had a major effect on overall project costs for ARDOT. He said that the department's efficient procurement process and emphasis on domestic manufacturing has helped offset some of the effects of tariffs.
Furthermore, eight of nine bills in ARDOT's legislative package are now law, he said. The one bill that did not approved, concerning denatured alcohol, was not submitted to the Arkansas Legislature.
The bills that did pass were:
• Act 209, which implements green lights to protect ARDOT and contractor employees on site;
• Act 117, which adds information about driving safely through work zones in the Arkansas Driver's Manual;
• Act 327, a law that doubles traffic fines in work zones;
• Act 256, which deregulates the movement of mobile classrooms or offices;
• Act 217, which changes statutory language to match current bonding requirements on highway construction projects;
• Act 328, a law that makes changes to the state's construction manager-general contractor program;
• Act 210, a bill that reduced the number of appraisals on surplus property from three to two; and
• Act 699, which ensures that the transportation department and utility companies are on the same page when it comes to infrastructure projects.
Later in the Highway Commission meeting, Patrick Patton, ARDOT's chief fiscal officer, presented the department's proposed operating budget for the agency's fiscal 2026.
"I continue to say revenues are flat, expenses are somewhat flat," Patton said while showing information about the department's finances on a slide.
In his presentation, he also showed a chart that displayed the total operating budget at nearly $556.9 million for ARDOT split between salaries and operating expenses. Federal reimbursement will cover approximately $96 million, leaving the state to cover $460 million of the operating budget.
The proposed budget would include a 2.5 percent cost of living adjustment for ARDOT employees, a 1.5 percent performance-based pay bump and an increase in the minimum salary to $16 per hour.
In addition, it would have a 2.5 percent increase in funding for operations in the department's 10 districts, a 10 percent increase in the agency's road and machinery budget, as well as increases in information technology and highway police budgets and capital project commitments.
After the presentation, Arkansas's highway commissioners approved the fiscal 2026 budget unanimously, the Little Rock-based news outlet reported.
To close the meeting, commission members met privately to evaluate Wiley's performance as director before announcing that he was found to have been exemplary in his role and rewarded with a 4.75 percent raise, meaning that his new annual salary will be around $236,000.
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