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Editorial: Building more shaky bridges The Oregonian The last thing Oregon needs is another substandard bridge. Yet the Legislature is pouring concrete around a highway funding package that is not strong enough to carry the weight of the state's transportation system into the future. Lawmakers and Gov. Ted Kulongoski are lining up behind an increase in vehicle registration fees but moving away from a better, broader funding plan that also would include a modest increase in the gas tax. The registration fee increase is vital - borrowing against the revenues would free up about $1 billion - but it is not enough to reverse the deterioration of Oregon's highway system. It is frightening how fast all of Oregon - state, counties and cities - is falling behind in keeping its roads and bridges in safe repair. Roughly 1,400 lane-miles of state highways are in "poor or worse" condition, and Oregon's Department of Transportation is falling behind by about 200 lane-miles per year on repaving to maintain current conditions. On Feb. 18, the agency ordered the heaviest trucks to get off Interstate 5 southbound near Eugene and onto Oregon 99W, diverting them through Monroe and other small communities. The reason: Weight limits had to be placed on a pair of McKenzie River bridges and one Willamette River bridge owing to cracks. Optimistically, the detour might last five years. Realistically, more wear-increasing and congestion-causing bypass orders are in store because legislators won't show the will to approve nearly enough funding for a $2 billion, 10-year plan to fix or replace 487 weakened bridges on major routes. The sorry condition of Oregon's bridges and highways can be traced directly to fights between AAA Oregon/Idaho and the Oregon Trucking Association, and the failure of lawmakers to invest in transportation. Since 1993, a line of GOP legislators, from then-House Speaker Bev Clarno, now a senator from Bend, to former Sen. Marylin Shannon of Salem, has blocked increases in the gas tax. The results have been disastrous for Oregon motorists, truckers and the economy. Instead of investing in the transportation system in the 1990s, when the state easily could have afforded it, lawmakers let bridges and highways fall apart. Now the state has little choice but to raise fees in the teeth of recession. If nothing is done, the Oregon Department of Transportation may be forced to limit bridges to 80,000-pound loads that would reduce annual economic activity in the state by $14 billion and cost 16,000 jobs. A dangerous imbalance has been created between the long-term drop in the purchasing power of the gas tax and the rising costs of road work. Since 1985, the auto fleet's increasing fuel efficiency has reduced per-mile fuel-tax revenues by about $10 billion. Factoring in inflation, an extra $5.7 billion has been unavailable to build and repair roads. The gas tax rose from 22 cents per gallon in 1992 to 24 cents in 1993 and is still there. Owing to inflation, we have had a gas-tax cut yearly for 10 years. The long-term future of road funding in Oregon lies with new sources such as fees on vehicle miles traveled, congestion pricing, studded tire fees and tolls. However, Oregon still must get there from here. The only sure route is a small gas-tax increase of a few cents this year and next, combined with the registration fee increase. Anything short of that is yet another shaky bridge LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -