The Garden City Telegram
NEW E-Edition!
Subscription
Required
Add Your Comment | Read (0) Comments
Bumpy future
Published 3/16/2010 in Commentary : Editorial
Highways should remain a priority.
When it comes to highways, Kansas leads the nation.
The lofty No. 1 ranking comes courtesy of a recent Reader's Digest study based on federal data for safety, traffic congestion and the condition of roads and bridges.
The recognition also comes at a time state transportation officials have cause to worry about a slip in road quality due to dwindling funds.
Kansas made notable progress on road improvement as part of two comprehensive transportation programs passed in 1989 and 1999, with the latter expiring in 2009.
But movement on a new transportation plan in Kansas may stall due to the budget crunch. The forecast for short-term road maintenance and other projects also looks gloomy.
The state highway fund was cut by $257 million this year, and the Kansas Department of Transportation recently announced it would suspend $86 million in 2010 state-funded highway projects, mostly for paving and bridge repair work — an unwelcome development as recent winter weather will mean rougher pavement and more potholes.
When it comes to roads, making them smoother and safer for travel has to be a priority. Another priority is their role in economic development.
The top ranking for Kansas roads no doubt surprised many western Kansans who have to navigate a number of narrow highways without shoulders. Plus, the lack of a four-lane highway into Finney County remains a hurdle to business and industry contemplating a move here.
Every part of the state has an interest in improving and maintaining roads that are key to economic recovery, survival and growth.
Still, lawmakers won't find it easy to commit to a new, multibillion-dollar transportation plan, in part because funding it would require higher taxes, such as a boost in the fuel tax and raising vehicle registration fees.
But this is no time to go backward. Developing and funding a plan to improve highways is neither wasteful nor something that can be put on hold in the face of economic uncertainty.
Rather, improving infrastructure and spurring job growth that road projects bring are economic stimulus the state should pursue with urgency.
After all, there's a long way to fall from No. 1.
Found 0 comment(s)!