State Transportation Leaders Call for Maintenance Over New Projects

With gas tax revenues on the decline, state transportation officials are calling for more funding from state and federal sources to fill budget gaps and complete crucial infrastructure and transit projects. “Gas taxes made up 41.1% of state transportation revenue in 2016, the association said. By 2023, they made up 37.6%.”

According to a Stateline article by Erika Bolstad, the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) gained $19 million in additional funding from the state for winter maintenance. However, some argue that the problem isn’t overall funding, but priorities. According to Bolstad, “Oregon state leaders acknowledge that their snowplow and winter maintenance budget is a small slice of the $4 billion devoted to road maintenance in the current two-year budget cycle.”

Meanwhile, “Experts who scrutinize state transportation budgets say that many transportation departments are shortchanging maintenance to launch new projects, and that gas tax collections haven’t yet plummeted.” 

Some lawmakers such as Oregon state representative Khanh Pham say state DOTs must focus on maintenance and basic services over road-building. “In Washington state, both Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee and Secretary of Transportation Roger Millar have urged lawmakers to prioritize existing infrastructure over new projects.”