Accessibility menu
State Representative Patti Fritz
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-8237
For more information contact: Sandy Connolly 651-296-8877
NEWS COLUMN
THE REAL VALUE OF A SOUND TRANSPORTATION PLAN
Over the weekend, I joined many Minnesotans in welcoming the beauty and serenity of the snowfall. We flocked to the grocery store on Friday night for those staples and extra treats we felt we needed, just in case we were stuck at home. There was a lightness and sense of fun as we stood in line - I got the distinct feeling that most of the people there relished the idea of stocking up for a homebound weekend. Perhaps it gave us the opportunity to cancel events, and just stay home and enjoy time with our families.
For most of us, reality hit on Monday morning. Suddenly the snow packed roads weren't quite so much fun as we headed out for work or school. We appreciated the roads that were plowed and sanded, as they made our journey safer and timelier.
It's very easy to take our state transportation system for granted. We jump in our vehicles and assume that our drive will be smooth and safe. Over the past few years, some of that has changed, however. In my freshmen term at the State Legislature, I was appointed to the House Transportation Committee. Over the course of those two years, I became aware of the magnitude of the transportation issues across the state. Our state has not passed a comprehensive transportation-funding bill for many years. As the result, it is estimated that over 1/3 of our state roads are too far-gone to be fixed and nearly 1/5 of our bridges are deficient or obsolete. The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) estimates that it will take $1.8 billion a year to address the numerous unmet construction and maintenance goals for our highways, roads and transit networks.
In our district, HWY 60 is a very worthwhile project, and the HWY 14 project needs to be finished. There are certainly other smaller roads and bridges that need to be addressed, as well. The big question, of course, is how to pay for all of this.
Last week, U.S. Congressman Jim Oberstar visited the State Legislature, where he addressed a joint meeting of the House and Senate Transportation Committees. With the change in majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, Congressman Oberstar is now the Chair of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. He is well aware of the transportation challenges facing our state, and said he is in a position to help us address our growing crisis.
Rep. Oberstar told the group that our state has lost out on millions of dollars in federal funding over the past few years because of the lack of a transportation bill. For most major state projects, the federal government offers an 80 percent match. According to Rep. Oberstar, these funds could amount to as much as $4.3 billion through 2009. This funding could go a long way towards curing some of the ills we feel with regard to transportation. However, in order to receive those funds, the state needs to ante up its 20 percent.
In order to meet this match, Rep. Oberstar made a strong recommendation for a state gas tax increase. This tax, the major source of funding for our highway system, hasn't increased since 1988. With inflation, our current 20-cent tax on a gallon of gas is worth the equivalent of 12 cents. Rep. Ron Erhardt, the lead Republican on the transportation committee, has introduced a bill for a gas tax increase already this session.
The Governor's proposal for transportation funding is more bonding. Over the past few years, our state has borrowed an unprecedented amount of money to pay for transportation. While this works ok in the short term, the long-term result is that the interest on this borrowing eats into the Trunk Highway Fund so quickly that after a few years, more money will be going for interest than for concrete. It also passes the burden of this debt onto our children and grandchildren, something I'm not very comfortable with.
There will no doubt be other proposals this session for funding transportation. What we can't do is ignore the problem. We need to find some reasonable funding mechanism so that we can continue to depend on safe roads and bridges and reliable transit systems. After all, the real value of a sound transportation funding plan is that we don't just want better roads and bridges, we need them – to shorten our busy days, to help our businesses thrive, and most importantly, so we can all arrive at our destination safely.
Please continue to contact me with your feedback and questions. I can be reached at (651) 296-8237, 551 State Office Building, 100 Martin Luther King Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55155 or via e-mail at rep.patti.fritz@house.mn.
News Items
- STATE REP. PATTI FRITZ PARTICIPATES IN START OF LEGISLATIVE SESSION - (Posted: Jan 9 2013 3:32PM)
- Rep. Fritz: Homeowners, Farmers Need Property Tax Relief - (Posted: 2012-05-01 00:00:00)
- Rep. Fritz: Let’s Vote on a Bonding Bill that Benefits All - (Posted: 2012-04-19 00:00:00)
- Archived News Items
- Subscribe to RSS News Feeds
- Read more about RSS.