The gas tax won't hack it, Price says

Nobody was crazy about resorting to toll-collection to build the Triangle Expressway, U.S. Rep. David Price said at Wednesday's ground-breaking ceremony (see story with dozens of reader comments).

But where else will we get the money to build new bridges and expressways?

The federal Highway Trust Fund, fueled mostly with a federal gas tax that has not been increased since 1992, is running on fumes. Congress recently approved an $8 billion bailout to make sure North Carolina and other states would get the federal road dollars promised for this fall.

“We have in the past relied on one source of revenue almost exclusively for our highway building, namely the gas tax revenue,” Price said. “It has funded highway construction, safety programs and a lot of other thngs for many, many years. …

“Now, that’s not even an option. Now the gas tax revenues simply aren’t going to do the job.”

You know the story. Our cars aren't guzzling so much gas these days, so we're paying fewer gas tax pennies per mile. Meanwhile, it costs more and more dollars to build and maintain every mile.

Price spoke a day after General Motors reported that its long-awaited Chevy Volt plug-in car will get 230 miles on a gallon of gas. How will Volt drivers pay for their share of road construction and upkeep? For that matter, how will Prius drivers?

In the coming year Congress will start working out an update on its six-year plan for transportation spending. Not only how to spend the money, but where to raise the money.

“We’re going to have a tremendous challenge at the federal level as the reauthorization goes forward ...," Price said, "to figure out what the revenue sources are going to look like, and how we’re going to fund transportation in this country.”