AAA Urges Congress to Invest Added $5 Billion Annually in Nation's Roads, Bridges
9 September 1997
AAA Urges Congress to Invest Added $5 Billion Annually in Nation's Roads, BridgesWASHINGTON, Sept. 9 -- AAA today urged Congress to invest an additional $5 billion per year toward maintaining and improving the nation's roads and bridges. Since 1993, one-fourth (4.3 cents of the current 18.3 cents per gallon) of federal gas tax receipts has been diverted from the Highway Trust Fund to support general fund spending. In August, Congress passed, and the president signed, the Taxpayer Relief Act which directs that, beginning Oct. 1, the 4.3 cents per gallon tax will flow into the Highway Trust Fund. "This was an important step in the right direction," said James Kolstad, AAA vice president for Public and Government Relations, "and will provide roughly $5 billion in additional revenue annually for highways, bridges and highway safety." More than one-third of major U.S. roads are in poor to mediocre condition and one-fourth of the more than 570,000 bridges in the U.S. are either structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, according to the Federal Highway Administration. "Additional federal spending is sorely needed," said Kolstad. "Congress has just taken a giant step in the right direction by putting all gas tax receipts into the Highway Trust Fund," added Kolstad. "The key now is to get them to actually spend those dollars on roads and bridges." The following chart shows the amount of additional funds which would flow to each state annually, under current law, if Congress invested the entire amount received from the 4.3 cents-per-gallon portion of the federal gasoline tax. AAA is a not-for-profit federation of 99 clubs, providing its 40 million members in the United States and Canada with a full line of travel, insurance, financial and auto-related services. POTENTIAL ADDITIONAL HIGHWAY FUNDING (Assuming all of 4.3% is disbursed to States) STATE Annual Additional Funding ALABAMA $100.0 million ALASKA $58.3 million ARIZONA $72.1 million ARKANSAS $61.7 million CALIFORNIA $454.6 million COLORADO $57.8 million CONNECTICUT $102.8 million DELAWARE $22.5 million FLORIDA $219.4 million GEORGIA $156.5 million HAWAII $35.4 million IDAHO $31.6 million ILLINOIS $191.7 million INDIANA $118.8 million IOWA $57.4 million KANSAS $59.6 million KENTUCKY $86.6 million LOUISIANA $78.9 million MAINE $26.5 million MARYLAND $77.3 million MASSACHUSETTS $197.6 million MICHIGAN $154.1 million MINNESOTA $70.4 million MISSISSIPPI $61.0 million MISSOURI $118.7 million MONTANA $42.7 million NEBRASKA $40.4 million NEVADA $30.3 million NEW HAMPSHIRE $24.9 million NEW JERSEY $139.0 million NEW MEXICO $48.1 million NEW YORK $303.6 million NORTH CAROLINA $134.5 million NORTH DAKOTA $29.6 million OHIO $184.8 million OKLAHOMA $78.2 million OREGON $60.9 million PENNSYLVANIA $205.1 million RHODE ISLAND $23.3 million SOUTH CAROLINA 79.3 million SOUTH DAKOTA $32.3 million TENNESSEE $113.8 million TEXAS $354.4 million UTAH $36.5 million VERMONT $22.8 million VIRGINIA $117.2 million WASHINGTON $93.3 million WEST VIRGINIA $46.0 million WISCONSIN $101.6 million WYOMING $32.3 million TOTAL $5.04 BILLION Source: The Road Information Program (TRIP) SOURCE AAA