CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- With demands for highway construction and maintenance growing and federal and other traditional funding sources shrinking -- particularly federal funding -- state Transportation Secretary Paul Mattox called on legislators Thursday to consider new ways to pay for road construction and maintenance.
That could include state voters to let the state sell road bonds, and pay the bonds off through higher fees and taxes.
With ongoing cuts in federal highways funds, Mattox said other states are looking at various methods to fund road construction and maintenance. Besides road bonds, those measures include increases in gas taxes, higher motor vehicle registration and licensing fees and new toll roads.
"With ever-increasing highway infrastructure needs and limited available funding, maybe it's time for West Virginia to consider some of these measures," Mattox told a joint meeting of the House and Senate Transportation committees.
West Virginia's Division of Highways needs $840 million a year of funding to maintain the current road system -- which would be about a 70 percent increase over current funding.
With a $1 billion road bond, the state could move forward with a number of projects now in limbo, including completing U.S. 35 in Mason and Putnam counties, W.Va. 10 in Logan County, and the Coalfields Expressway in Wyoming County, Mattox said.
If that bond issue were increased to $1.5 billion, the state could also complete Corridor H, he said.
Any bond issue would have to be paid off though higher fees on motorists, most likely through higher gas taxes.
Mattox said a $1 billion road bond would require $65 million to $70 million of new taxes and fees each year for 30 years.
"These are questions best answered in a democratic process, with a vote of the citizens," Mattox said.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- With demands for highway construction and maintenance growing and federal and other traditional funding sources shrinking -- particularly federal funding -- state Transportation Secretary Paul Mattox called on legislators Thursday to consider new ways to pay for road construction and maintenance.
That could include state voters to let the state sell road bonds, and pay the bonds off through higher fees and taxes.
With ongoing cuts in federal highways funds, Mattox said other states are looking at various methods to fund road construction and maintenance. Besides road bonds, those measures include increases in gas taxes, higher motor vehicle registration and licensing fees and new toll roads.
"With ever-increasing highway infrastructure needs and limited available funding, maybe it's time for West Virginia to consider some of these measures," Mattox told a joint meeting of the House and Senate Transportation committees.
West Virginia's Division of Highways needs $840 million a year of funding to maintain the current road system -- which would be about a 70 percent increase over current funding.
With a $1 billion road bond, the state could move forward with a number of projects now in limbo, including completing U.S. 35 in Mason and Putnam counties, W.Va. 10 in Logan County, and the Coalfields Expressway in Wyoming County, Mattox said.
If that bond issue were increased to $1.5 billion, the state could also complete Corridor H, he said.
Any bond issue would have to be paid off though higher fees on motorists, most likely through higher gas taxes.
Mattox said a $1 billion road bond would require $65 million to $70 million of new taxes and fees each year for 30 years.
"These are questions best answered in a democratic process, with a vote of the citizens," Mattox said.
Senate Minority Leader Mike Hall, R-Putnam, said the push for adequate road funding will require real political leadership. He noted that Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin last regular session vetoed a bill to increase DMV fees that would have provided an additional $40 million a year for the state Road Fund.
"We need some real political muscle here to look at the public of West Virginia and say, "You really need to own this problem," Hall said. "We can't skirt the reality. We have to make some tough decisions."
Tom Witt, director of the Bureau of Business and Economic Research at West Virginia University, noted that while the state's per-gallon gas tax has increased, the burden on motorists has decreased over the years, as vehicle mileage has improved.
In 2001, a vehicle driven 12,500 miles in a year, getting 15 miles per gallon, would have paid $213.75 in gas taxes.
In 2012, the same mileage in a vehicle getting 35 mpg would cost $139.17 in gas taxes.
"It's a fallacy that motorists are paying more in taxes," Witt said.
The gas tax will continue to decline as a source for road funds, as electric-powered and other alternative fuel vehicles become more common, he noted.
"We're going to have more and more of these alternative fuel vehicles on our roads, contributing to the wear-and-tear, but not paying their fair share," Witt said.
The hearing coincided with Transportation Day at the Legislature, sponsored by West Virginians for Better Transportation.
Reach Phil Kabler at wvgazette.com or 304-348-1220.