Highway Funding in Crisis - The Ignorance of our Congress

We wonder why the highway trust fund is nearing insolvency in a time of these various givens.

1. Deteriorating infrastructure, whether they cost lives in bridge collapse in Minnesota or inconvenience of bridge closings due to unsafe conditions
2. Increasing congestion slowing the moving of goods for industry
3. The same congestion slowing commutes for drivers
4. Federal Trust Fund dollars diverted by earmarks for projects outside of the priorites of State transportation officials
5. Federal Gas Tax, the primary revenues source of the Highway Trust Fund remaining unchanged in better than ten years.
6. Double digit inflation in the construction industry costed by increased fuel costs reducing the buying power of the highway departments

Sure, there are politicians grandstanding with varying "solutions" in this election year. There is talk of private investment (translation tolls) to solve the problem. This is one tool in the tool box, but today I must point out a symptom of the problem that lies with our elected officials.

Today in the Toledo Blade, Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur, (9th District Ohio) has a letter to the editor entitled " Time to stop state drain on turnpike". A link to it is below.

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080525/OPINION03/805250315/-1/OPINION

In this letter, Ms. Kaptur is critical of the Ohio Department of Transportation for diverting Ohio Turnpike tolls. One exerpt of Ms. Kaptur's letter;

"Turnpike dollars have been systematically diverted to build "freeways" across other growth corridors of the state: U.S. 30 from Indiana through Upper Sandusky to Pennsylvania and I-70 from Indiana through Columbus to Pennsylvania. In fact, there are so many interstates around Columbus, one can spend an entire day cruising that spaghetti."

This is a time to remind Ms. Kaptur that tolls from the Ohio Turnpike are used to retire the debt on the building of the turnpike, its service plazas and the subsequent widening in recent years. The construction of the upgrading of US 30 and all of the other interstate highways in Ohio are funded with Federal Gas Tax dollars dispersed by Congress to the states and then allocated by ODOT. There is more from Marcy

"...our federal taxes are not returned along this northern corridor, while turnpike users are charged rising tolls which the state then diverts to points south. Our tolled corridor becomes an economic straightjacket pitted against "free ways" in other parts of our state."

None of these diversions have taken place. Rising tolls are funding the widening of the Turnpike. In recent years ODOT has transfered money to the turnpike to reduce tolls on trucks to encourage them to use the safer turnpike instead of other two lane state highways.

One of the points of this letter by Ms. Kaptur is to tout a plan by Govenor Strickland to use turnpike tolls for his economic stimulus package and to spend highway trust fund dollars on other modes of transportation. While promoting rail and transit is important, the transfer of inadequate levels of highway dollars for these other modes is ill concieved when ODOT is unable to fund its current program.

ODOT has commited significant dollars in recent years to reconstruct US 20 along the turnpike in Wood County, a project that is ongoing to widen toward Woodville. Earmarks from Congress were responsible for the US 20 SR 420 interchange and the I-75 SR 795 interchange.

Ms. Kaptur, do not rant about topics like these without getting your facts straight. I am sure this will help to brainwash an unknowing electorate to get you reelected by near unanimous margins but does little to solve the problems you are elected to do.

A Call for Highway Funding

At the recent dedication ceremony for the Veterans' Glass City Skyway in Toledo, Ohio Senator George Voinovich was the only politician of many speaking at the ceremony that touched on the need to work toward our next big projects by reopening the Highway Bill. This is an open letter to the Senator. I encourage you to do the same.

Senator George Voinovich
Washington, DC Office:
524 Hart Senate Office BuildingWashington, DC 20510

Dear Senator:
I would like to thank you for attending the dedication ceremony of the Veterans’ Glass City Skyway on Saturday June 23, 2007. It is a special time in Toledo to finally open as a reality a dream that so many have had for so many years.

I am a local civil engineer that had the privilege of serving on the Project Management team for seven years. As a life long Toledoan who has always dreamed of building roads it was truly an opportunity of a lifetime. It is also the reason I write to you today as an unemployed civil engineer.

You touched on it nicely during your speech. The realities of rising costs of fuel and steel have made the increases in funding proposed in the last transportation bill inadequate to cover the double digit inflation levels in the construction industry. Projects are getting delayed as the bids are coming in well over the amounts budgeted for them. The more critical item for people in the engineering field are that fewer projects are going to design as more projects are left on the shelf waiting for construction dollars to come available.

Engineering firms all over Ohio are suffering from this slowdown. We all know that there are needed projects all over Ohio that need to be addressed. A lack of funding for these projects is leaving them on the sidelines while the engineers of Ohio wait to make them happen.

As stated by Becky Schultz in Equipment Today, “Over the past 25 years, vehicle miles traveled in the United States have doubled, and truck travel has increased at an even faster rate. Yet, lane-mile capacity has increased by only 5.2%. What's worse, freight tonnage shipped by truck is projected to double by 2035”. As costs and needs continue to rise, the federal gasoline tax that funds these projects has remained flat since 1997.

It is critical to our economy to keep the engineers of Ohio working. Congress must reopen the highway bill and enact legislation that is indexed to the rising costs of construction. .

House Transportation Committee Links

As a beginning to the new blog to discuss issues related to thetransportation industry, I am sending out this note that provides the websites related to the House Transportation and InfrastructureCommittee.

Alot of information is available at this site to keep youinformed of the issues related to our industry.As information is digested, summaries will be posted on the blogrelated to NW Ohio and the Transportation Industry.

Website: http://transportation.house.gov/

Members: http://transportation.house.gov/about/index.shtml#members

A report on the views of the committee is available at the following website:http://transportation.house.gov/about/ViewsEstimates.pdf

The forms for Congressional Earmark Certification, or as Nancy Pelosi is calling them "Legistlative Directives" are available at the following website:http://transportation.house.gov/Earmarks/index.shtml

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
Chairman James Oberstar
Contact the Committee
2165 Rayburn
House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-4472
Fax: (202) 226-1270

--Black Swamp Road Geek
http://blackswamproad.blogspot.com/
bsroad@gmail.com
Spreading the word about the transportation industry in a manner thatis easier to understand.

Yesterday, Ohio Governor Strickland announced that he has directed ODOT to partner in the Clean Fuel Initiative by using CMAQ funding to allow local communities to retrofit older deisel engines with clean diesel technology


Here is a link to the news release

http://www.dot.state.oh.us/news/2007/05-22-2007.htm

CMAQ stands for Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality. CMAQ program is intended to realign the focus of transportation planning toward a more inclusive, environmentally-sensitive, and multimodal approach to addressing transportation problems. Transportation projects that improve capacity improve air quality by reducing the time vehicles are idling in congested areas.

In 2005, Congress renewed the CMAQ program in SAFETEA-LU requires States and MPOs to give priority in distributing CMAQ funds to diesel engine retrofits, and other cost-effective emission reduction and congestion mitigation activities that provide air quality benefits. SAFETEA-LU and the CMAQ program are funded by the Federal Gas Tax.

Updating local community fleets is a noble cause that needs to be funded. The use of transportation dollars in this manner at a time when transportation budgets are stressed due to rising fuel costs. Updating transit bus fleets is a sensible use of these dollars. Other government fleets using these dollars amounts to a grab of gas tax dollars intended to fund transportation projects. This is similar to the State Highway Patrol being funded in this manner.

The next time you are sitting in traffic waiting for a long awaited road improvement, remember that your transportation tax dollars are being diverted for non transportation uses.

Bike Paths and City of Toledo

WSPD has been critiquing the spending of this administration in regard to bike paths. This criticism in valid when the entire funding of the paths is with city dollars and the routing has been selected by City staff without public input.

This past week we watched as the first lighting of the VGCS took place. It will truly be a landmark. The bridge will be seen for miles but one of the important aspects of the design of the bridge was to reconnect neighborhoods that were severed by the construction of I-280 back in the 1950s. As the bridge will be built over the neighborhood the opportunity exists to create a place for the neighborhood to use. ODOT, in addition to the $200 million plus spent on the bridge overed $1 million in enhancement dollars to reestablish the neighborhood and make pleasent useable spaces

Several public meetings were held, lead by ODOT and the Maumee River Crossing Task Force (MRCTF) a group selected by TMACOG. One of the important comments that came out of the meetings was that when the Greenbelt Parkway was built it severed Buckeye Street. Buckeye Street was used by people to get to Libbey Glass to work. May of these people used their bikes or walk to get to work and closing the street lead to having to use their car to get to work. Another comment that was getting across the river. The moving of interstate traffic to the new bridge provided an opportunity to dedicated a specific portion of the Craig Bridge for the use of bikes. That will leave only a short distance between Ravine PArk and the Starr Ave trail in Oregon that once implemented would allow for dedicated bike travel from downtown toledo to maumee bay state park

The plan that was developed would connect the existing trail along the Greenbelt Parkway to Ravine PArk in East Toledo and the MArina District along a network of about 2 miles of trails. Several years ago, during the Ford administration, ODOT and MRCTF went to the City staffers that were part of the task force for help in being the sponsoring agency for grants to pay for the path portion to free up the $1 million in ODOT money to plant trees and the like. Three different grants were obtained for paths with the City having to dedicated either 20 or 25 percent as a match.

As the bridge is nearing completion, ODOT and the City of had to prepare for the next construction contract (known as the trench contract) that will fill in I-280 and prepare implement the wants of the public in the neighborhood to have their neighborhood reconnected, establish a bike crossing over the river and be able to enjoy our community landmark in a space that is inviting. That project, totalling over $20million will be sold this year with completion in about two years. Totalled up, the state and federal dollars have come in with well over $220 million and the city is being asked to contribute a few hundred thousand dollars to finish the job. Seems reasonable to me.

These were bike paths done the right way. First with public meetings, then with grant applications and now implementation. This is a project to celebrate

And I thought I would never do this.....

Looks like I did.

Great place to rant.....rave and type endlessly in the night

Toledo, Ohio & the Northwest Ohio area was settled in the area known as the Black Swamp. The journey that our area is taking is one of hand wringing over each and every issue. I have lived here all my 41 years and have watched the same mistakes made time and time again.

I reside in Sylvania, Ohio. I have titled this blog Black Swamp Road as a description of our area and that roads & highway engineering is my job. As faith is important to me as well I may wander in that direction as well.