It's a matter of keeping at them. These things are evolutionary. I can't think of any good reason why the DOT would change its policy -- it's sort of got you by the short and curlies with the cost-saving side of things in the current economic climate.

From what I have seen, a lot of governments are just resealing the lanes and not over the shoulders, which leaves the shoulders to deteriorate.

You should go to Amarillo and see what they have done on the main road through the joint -- laid down two strips per lane that correspond to just wider than the tyre tracks of trucks. It's rough as guts to drive on (goes with the rest of the city, it seems), and if you are on a bike, you'd have to seek out a parallel road, or ride the sidewalk. That, I have to admit, is a bad situation (although probably not TDOT jurisdiction).