Like the roads and bridges we drive on, our state’s
transportation financing policy is in a state of collapse.
In Washington, D.C., legislators went
down to the wire to temporarily rescue the Highway Trust Fund, the primary
source for financing this country’s highway and mass transit improvements. The
rescue is only a stop-gap measure; the Highway Trust Fund will run out of money
again by next June. The Highway Trust Fund supports fifty percent of California’s Highway
Capital Program.
If that weren’t bad enough, in California we face our own funding
issues. The successful $20 billion Prop 1B bond program that financed many
projects over the last few years has ended and Caltrans has projected a $290
billion shortfall through 2020 for the maintenance and expansion of the state’s
roads and highways. Future state and federal revenue for transportation
improvements is expected to drop by 40%, compared to the levels of the last
five years.
So, here’s the dilemma:
in order to grow our economy in a sustainable way, we need good roads and
highways – to carry goods and our growing population. Roads need constant maintenance and, as our
population grows, more cars use those roads, traffic patterns change and require
new road solutions. How do we pay for
them?
“Build California Better,“ a
white paper just released by ACEC California, addresses this issue and looks at
alternative paths California may take to keep our roads and highways in the
condition needed to support further economic growth.
Key to the issue is understanding the state gas tax, which was
conceived to help finance road maintenance and improvements. Gas tax revenue however, hasn’t kept pace with
inflation and is actually on the decline as more Californians drive vehicles
with greater fuel efficiency or, increasingly, no dependence on gas at all: in
2010 there were just two models of electric car on the market, today there are more than
20.
So, an increase in the gas tax – viewed as political suicide
by many – isn’t even a long term guarantee that the state will take in more
revenue. As more Californians adopt
hybrid or electric technology, fewer will purchase gas.
It’s time for some ‘outside-the-box’ thinking on this
issue. The purpose of “Build California
Better” is to promote that kind of thinking, enhance discussion and, hopefully,
encourage our state’s politicians and visionaries to deliver a long term,
sustainable funding plan for our transportation infrastructure.
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