Roads need a reliable funding source and solution-oriented politicians
Published July 16, 2014
Editorial by Wilmington Star-News, July 16, 2014.
Believe it: Gridlock in Washington can lead to gridlock right here in the Port City. And if Congress can’t get past the partisan bickering that has made it one of the least productive in history, we will see the effects in the form of delays on important road construction projects.
The N.C. Department of Transportation says failure of Congress to reach an agreement to keep the Federal Highway Trust Fund would delay the widening of Kerr Avenue between Randall Parkway and Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway, as well as maintenance and repaving on Interstate 40. Those delays also would cost hundreds to thousands of jobs at a time when our state is just coming back from the worst downturn in recent memory.
The trust fund, which is built on federal fuel tax revenues, is rapidly dwindling. Officials say it could be insolvent as early as next month. That’s a scary thought. Allowing our roadways and transportation systems to deteriorate would cripple economic growth.
North Carolina faces a similar problem funding its roads. The state gas tax, which used to rise and fall along with prices, has been capped.
Add to that higher construction costs, more fuel-efficient cars on the road and reduced driving as gas prices creep up, and you have a formula that will increase the growing gap between transportation needs and available revenue.
Many potential solutions have been looked at – among them, toll roads; taxing drivers on how many miles they drive each year; public-private construction agreements; and additional fees on fuel-efficient vehicles (especially hybrids and electric cars). All have their drawbacks, as does increasing either the state or federal gas tax.
The White House issued a report this week outlining the sorry state of America’s roads. North Carolina fares better than most, but 11 percent of our roads and as many as 30 percent of our bridges are considered deficient. That likely doesn’t even include roads that don’t exist but that will be necessary as our state continues to add residents faster than most other states.
No one relishes paying more, but someone has to pay for our transportation network. It is vital to our economic future. Broken and overcrowded roads and bridges cause delays in delivering products, increase maintenance cost and reduce fuel efficiency and discourage businesses from locating in a particular area.
Common sense would suggest that more than one remedy may be needed to fatten federal and state highway funds and to ensure that our transportation network remains one of our strongest economic drivers. But reaching a solution requires serious discussions, not partisan jabs and grandstanding.
It also requires that both politicians and Americans face the hard truth that the cost of good roads must be borne by all of us.
http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20140716/ARTICLES/140719785/1108?template=printart
July 16, 2014 at 8:24 am
Richard Bunce says:
... or we could reduce government at all levels to minimum essential and Constitutionally authorized services in which case there would be plenty of existing revenue to maintain highways.
July 16, 2014 at 6:03 pm
Johnny Hiott says:
If these so called highway trust funds were used for highways they would have plenty of monies for repairs and building new roads. The state gas tax has more than tripled since 1975 when it was 9 cents per gallon. The argument of better milage doesn't get it anymore. In 1975 there were appx. 3.5 million autos, trucks, buses registered in the state. In 2011 there are appx. 6 million registered. Almost double the number from thirty five years prior. The state takes in three times more money just on the fixed number charged per gallon and double again based upon number of vehicles. It's just like Social Security, there was a seven trillion dollar surplus in the mid sixties until LBJ and congress moved the seven trillion dollars out of the Social Security trust fund, placed it in the "general fund" and proceeded to steal every penny of it ! The same goes for the Hi-way trust fund, the monies have been stolen from it to pay for "high speed rail" which no one wants and very few use. Not to mention monies used for bonuses and other means of theft. The fix for Highway trust funds (both state and federal) is simple. Mandate the monies be used ONLY for highways !
