Your Aug. 10 Pre-Trip: States mull transportation funding fixes

Aug. 10, 2015

Your Aug. 10 Pre-Trip. Here are five things worth knowing today.

Here are five things worth knowing today: 1. Democratic leaders of the House and Senate in Connecticut nixed a proposal to charge state motorists for the amount of miles they drive on Connecticut roads, according to a report in the Connecticut Post. The proposal, which was presented to the Governor’s Transportation Finance Panel, is based on a mileage tax trial in Oregon. Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff called the proposal a “non-starter with no traction,” according to the report. Democrats are responding to Republican criticism about Gov. Dannel Malloy’s proposed $100 billion, 30-year plan to overhaul state transportation and transit infrastructure. The Post has more.2. Nevada transportation officials are watching Oregon’s pilot program in which motorists pay for road and highway improvements by the mile rather than through the gas tax, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. There has been a growing concern across the country that highway funding, which is supported by the fuel tax, is declining because motorists aren’t buying as much gasoline. The Review-Journal has more.3. Like most states and counties across the country, Santa Rosa County in Florida is trying to figure out how to pay for the state’s looming transportation needs. According to the Pensacola News Journal, the county commission is considering raising the gas tax or reinstating impact fees to generate more revenue for its roadways. “The county is projecting about $9.8 million in road resurfacing projects in the next five years, and has been eyeing the remaining 6 cents available in its local option gas tax,” the News Journal said. According to the report, officials are also considering reinstating impact fees, one-time charges to offset the cost of new or expanded roads to accommodate new development. 4. According to ABC 9 KCRG, a judge in Iowa has dismissed the state from a lawsuit filed by the cities of Cedar Rapids, Des Moines and Muscatine over a department of transportation order to remove automated traffic cameras from state highways. According to the report, the cities sued after DOT ruled in March that some traffic cameras operating on the state’s highways needed to be shut off because they did not make roads safer. ABC 9 has more. 5. Maine State Police are cleaning up this morning after a tractor-trailer loaded with 48,000 lbs. of Poland Spring water crashed on I-95 South in York, the Lewiston-Auburn Sun Journal reports. The truck driver told police that he felt a mechanical issue with the truck, as the vehicle went from the middle lane to the center guardrail and flipped on its side at 2:50 this morning. According to the report, investigators determined there were no mechanical issues with the vehicle, and they believe the cause of the crash was likely driver fatigue.

About the Author

Cristina Commendatore

Cristina Commendatore was previously the Editor-in-chief of FleetOwner magazine. She reported on the transportation industry since 2015, covering topics such as business operational challenges, driver and technician shortages, truck safety, and new vehicle technologies. She holds a master’s degree in journalism from Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut.