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State Representative Gene Pelowski Jr.
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-8637
For more information contact: Ben Schweigert 651-296-5809
Column/LTE
PAVEMENT VS. GRAVEL
Last week I received an e-mail from the Winona County engineer with some shocking news. He told me that the county was so short on money for highways that it would have to start turning paved roads back into gravel if some new funding isn’t found.
It was this sober message that I had in mind when the House of Representatives debated the transportation bill this week. The bill started out as the pavement-to-gravel bill. It would have provided little new money. It would have ensured that our roads would keep falling apart or that we would have to turn them back into gravel to afford to maintain them.
Fortunately, things changed. A moderate Republican representative proposed an amendment that found a way to put significant new funds into the bill, and a bipartisan coalition formed to help it pass. It contained enough money that our engineers and highway workers will be able to maintain, improve, and expand our highways, not turn them into gravel. Despite strong opposition, our bipartisan group of moderates held together, and on Thursday morning the new-and-improved bill passed.
This bill is good for our area and all of rural Minnesota. With this bill, Winona County will receive $16.2 million over the next ten years for county and local roads. Without it, the county gets only $3.9 million. That means that if the Governor signs this bill, Winona County will get more than four times as much money as it would under current law. In Houston County, the story is just as good: they will get more than three-and-a-half times as much money, increasing from $3.4 million to $12.4 million.
That means there would be no need to turn our paved highways into gravel.
Opponents of this bill have said that it is biased toward the Metro area and transit, but that is simply a politically motivated falsity. More than three-quarters of the funding in the bill will go for highways, and most of that will be for rural projects. Far from cheating rural areas, this bill is the only chance that Greater Minnesota has to get the funding we need. It would be the first increase in dedicated funds for rural roads and bridges since 1988, and most of the money will be raised in the Metro area.
Even the transit portions of the bill work to our advantage. Most of the transit funding comes from a Metro area sales tax, not from taxes raised in Greater Minnesota. Furthermore, the bill addresses a growing need in our area by nearly doubling spending on rural transit. Finally, everyone in Minnesota benefits when people in the Metro ride the bus or a train, because then we don’t have to build so many highways for them. While it costs $800,000 to build a mile of highway in rural Minnesota, it costs a staggering $40 million to build a mile of highway in the Metro.
Opponents also criticize the bill because it raises part of the new money through two incremental increases in the gas tax, but this too is misguided. We need new investment in our roads, and the money had to come from somewhere. While there are other sources I would have preferred, this was the only way that we could put together a winning coalition to raise any money at all. Even with the increase, our gas tax will still be lower than in Wisconsin, and a 5 cent gas tax increase will only cost the average driver 38 cents per day. I think most of us would pay that much to drive on quality paved highways rather than deteriorating or gravel roads.
Soon the Senate will debate this transportation bill, and they are expected to pass it. From there it will go to the Governor for his signature or veto. I strongly urge him to sign it, and do the right thing for the state. This is an opportunity for him to reject extremism and join a moderate, bipartisan coalition that is committed to pragmatic solutions to our transportation challenges. Rather than resorting to partisanship, this bill is a chance to come together and take reasonable steps to defend our quality of life.
Right now Minnesota is faced with a stark choice. It’s a choice between restoring the quality of our transportation system and watching it deteriorate along with the jobs and businesses that rely on a top-notch highway network. It’s a choice between pavement and gravel.
News Items
- REP. GENE PELOWSKI: MINNESOTA STATUTE 12A IMPROVES STATE DISASTER RECOVERY PROCESS AND DISASTER RELIEF PACKAGE - (Posted: 2012-08-24 00:00:00)
- REP. GENE PELOWSKI AND SEN. JEREMY MILLER SUPPORT TWO-BRIDGE PROPOSAL - (Posted: 2012-08-23 00:00:00)
- REP. GENE PELOWSKI: STATE DISASTER RECOVERY PACKAGE SHOULD FOLLOW PROCESS OUTLINED IN 12A AND INCLUDE PUBLIC INPUT - (Posted: 2012-08-16 00:00:00)
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