How to finally fix highway funding

Here we go again. When it comes to government funding for our nation’s roads and bridges, I can’t help but use this idiom once again: Robbing Peter to pay Paul.

Our federal government is embarking on a new Highway Reauthorization Bill as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act expires in just over a year: September 2026. This puts the onus on the current Congress to replace President Joe Biden’s IIJA. As such, creating a sustainable funding mechanism for a nation’s roads and bridges should be a priority.

For years, we’ve been kicking the can down the crumbling roads instead of creating sustainable funding. Current fees allocated to the Highway Trust Fund have not changed since 1993, a far cry from the 2025 pricing that we currently face. As a result, this created a shortfall, commonly made up of general fund transfers that have little to no chance of consistently subsidizing a trust fund that requires predictability.

Cue the drumroll, please, as we enter a world called the gallons-based user fee, or GBUF. This user fee is precisely as it sounds, based upon the very nature of its funding. The idea of paying a fee for each gallon of fuel makes perfect sense and offers a path to sustainable funding that everyone should support.

The Trump administration’s “Drill Baby Drill” platform is leading to falling fuel prices, and the absorption of an increase in fees paid at the pump should be feasible. Taking into account what our nation currently pays for gasoline and diesel, 18.4 cents and 24.4 cents per gallon should increase to 39.9 cents and 52.9 cents, respectively. Coupled with registration fees for both electric and hybrid vehicles, this creates a sustainable funding mechanism for improving roads and bridges. Today, our nation’s infrastructure is nowhere near making the Dean’s list of the American Society of Civil Engineers' Infrastructure Report Card.

Yes, this comes at a cost. To the average passenger vehicle owner, the annual cost is likely around $125, a price less than what many pay for streaming services. But every road user is already paying this fee without realizing it. According to the American Transportation Research Institute, trucking’s cost of congestion equates to $108.8 billion, taking into account wasted fuel, lost time, and increased operating costs.

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A first-class infrastructure would help alleviate those costs. Additionally, if anyone has had to replace a flat tire caused by a pothole, they know that they are likely paying more than $125 for that tire. Traffic congestion, vehicle wear and tear, and higher insurance premiums all fall into the category of crumbling infrastructure as unrealized costs absorbed by Americans that would decrease if we had a trust fund with the dollars to sustain it.

Here is the best feature of all: with the GBUF, the fees attributed to it, in terms of cost, are low. Ridiculously low. Just 1% because the collection process already exists. In our government world, where saving dollars continues to be paramount in getting costs in line, the administrative fee of 1% makes it the most attractive option to consider.

It is essential to note that increasing these fees addresses a pressing need, namely the repeal of the Federal Excise Tax on new equipment. The FET is set at 12% of the price of a new tractor, which is not a small amount of money. Enacted in 1917 to help fund World War I, the time for repealing it has long been overdue.

By increasing the GBUF paid at the pump, our industry can finally shed the burdensome cost of the FET and invest those dollars in safety equipment or fleet upgrades, representing a win-win situation for all involved.

For years, our HTF has been sustained by general fund transfers, demonstrating the need for higher gasoline prices at the pump. Supporting our infrastructure must become a priority if we are to grow our economy and provide our nation with the first-class infrastructure that we ultimately pay for.