LGRTA: Potholes in state’s road funding plan

The coast isn’t the only thing deteriorating in Louisiana. Facing an estimated $14 billion backlog in unmet road and bridge construction needs, the state’s roads are literally being worn away.

“The bottom line is this. Our travel demands are increasing. Our deterioration is accelerating. And the cost of materials is rising. Because of that, Louisiana has a $14 billion backlog in unmet construction needs,” said Louisiana Good Roads & Transportation Association communications director Jennifer Marusak at the Bayou Region Day at the Louisiana Legislature.

The state holds responsibility for about 17,000 miles of roads. 6,000 miles of these roads are not eligible for federal funding. More than 40 percent of the state’s on-system bridges are more than 40 years old. And 28 percent of the state’s urban Interstates are congested.

Marusak said the state’s traffic fatality rate is more than 40 percent higher than the national average.

“Poor roads and highways are hurting our quality of life and they’re costing the driving public money. There is significant additional cost to motorists who drive on bad roads,” she said. “It’s estimated in Louisiana we spend an additional $300 to $400 a year on maintenance on our vehicles, because of our poor roads.”

Marusack cited the Washington, D.C.-based national transportation research group TRIP’s report on Louisiana’s roads, assigning letter grades for the categories, roads, bridges, congestion, safety and funding. The state scored F, D-, C, F and D respectively.

And the numbers the group looked at to make the report were pre-Katrina.

“We all know what the problems are. We drive on them every day. We have crumbling roads and congestion,” she noted.

Marusak said it is estimated Louisiana needs to spend $180 to $200 million annually just to keep up strictly with the maintenance of today’s roads.

But in the 2005-06 fiscal year the state spent $17 million. And this year the state is slated to spend $30 million.

“But the way the funding formula works, by the next fiscal year we’re only going to have $9 million available,” said Marusak.

This does not bode well for projects like the I-49 Southern Extension plan. The completed sections of it will likely be in disrepair before the project is completed, sometime in 2020.

The roadway improvement project spanning 156 miles and runs from Lafayette to New Orleans. A little more than 80 miles have already been completed.

But the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development estimates the project will take more than $5 billion to complete.

“Louisiana’s current road funding system does not work,” she said.

Marusak said the Transportation Trust Fund (TTF) is the primary mechanism for road and bridge funding in the state. A 16-cent gas and diesel tax, established in 1984 and never indexed for inflation, funds the Transportation Trust Fund.

Marusak cites this gas tax to have a meager buying power of less than eight cents today.

“By 2009, Louisiana’s gas tax is going to be insufficient to meet federal match. That means for every gallon of gas that you buy, those federal tax dollars that you pay that go up to Washington, will not be coming back to work on Louisiana roads,” she explained.

Marusak said those federal tax dollars will instead go to states like Texas, Mississippi and Arkansas that can provide the state match to draw back in those federal dollars.

Gov. Kathleen Blanco is currently considering giving a one-time boost of $450 million of the state’s expected $827 million surplus to the state’s road system. But this amount represents less than 3 percent of the $14 billion backlog.

“We’ll take whatever we can get, but it is a quick fix and does not solve the problem. What we need to be discussing is sustainable, reliable funding dedicated to building and maintaining our state’s infrastructure system,” said Marusak.

Marusak said the states Department of Transportation is the fourth lowest in the nation in administrative costs. Thirty-eight states have a higher gas tax. Forty-six states have higher auto registration fees. And 44 states have higher truck registration fees.

“We rely on that one stagnant 16 cent gas tax for all our transportation needs, including our port infrastructure, which has gotten us into the situation we’re in now,” she said. “We should be the transportation hub for the hemisphere.”

Marusak and the Louisiana Good Roads & Transportation Association are pushing their “Driving Louisiana Forward” plan to start repairing Louisiana’s arteries.

“We believe it can be done with no new taxes and no new fees if this legislature decides to truly make transportation a priority and fund it accordingly,” said Mursak.

The DLF plan supports bills that divert funding to the TTF from other state funds or prevent other programs from drawing funds from it.

For example, one bill would make it so State Police Traffic Control ($40 million) and Department of Transportation and Development employee benefits ($85 million) would start come out of the general fund instead of the TTF.

And another would make it so the more moving violations a driver has, the higher the fine he or she will pay if found guilty of another one.

The list of supported bills and the Driving Louisiana Forward plan can be found online at www.drivinglouisianaforward.org.