Get ready - it is coming...

 

 

"Anybody who is happy with our road system is either drinking Kool Aid or driving where I don't travel..."

This article today might get me defriended, egged, beat up and a few other things. But this is something I have read quite a few articles on as well as the tea leaves. What am I talking about? A different way to fund our roads and bridges. A user tax instead of a gas tax. I know, I know - I hate it also. It pains me to write this article, but I truly believe it is coming. And sooner rather than later.

Just like the partial collapse of the Bakken Oil Fields is a result of their own success, the reduction in road tax revenue is a reflection of what we drive. With the introduction of CAFE standards, EPA mandates, and newer automobile technologies, more vehicles are being driven more miles using less fuel. Less fuel used means less fuel purchased. Less fuel purchased means less tax collected, both state and federal.

I see user fees coming to fund both the highway system as well as the rail system in this state. Both are need of expansion, major repairs and minor repairs. And lets face facts. Living in this brutal climate is not only hard on us, it is murder on our roads. Every spring we have all had to endure roads which look more like a bombing range than something fit to be driven on. For alignment shops and tire stores, this is great. For the rest of us, this has become a yearly, expensive hassle.

There was an extensive article in the Sunday paper which addressed our transportation shortfall. There is no solution being offered right now which is popular and viable. That is all except one. This one is NOT popular with many, but it might be viable. That would be the user fee. A user fee for miles driven.

Funding for our highway system comes from three sources: 1) Gas tax 2) Sales tax on cars sold and 3) License tabs. Even with those three sources, repairs cannot keep up with the needs. As I have said, our weather is brutal. The increasing loads on our highway system is brutal. I don't care if we use concrete or tar, they both wear out - and quickly. Even our brand new 35W "100 year bridge" is showing signs of wear. We have hundreds of bridges on the "watch list". Our rail system has been pushed to the limit with the ever increasing oil shipments. It needs also needs almost $1B of upgrades.

So where do we go from here? Are we going to argue this one to death while our rails and roads continue to crumble? Are we going to wait until we have a catastrophic bridge collapse or train derailment? I will only criticize solutions being offered which syphon money away from road and rails into additional light rail infastucture or bikes trails. How we should fund trains and bikes is the subject of another article. Hint - the "greenies" will not like it.