Media

Bike Couriers Bike Shop in the News

Financing options urged for bridges
Official: Road fund cannot cover cost
by Marcus Green
The Courier-Journal
Friday, January 18, 2008
Frankfort, Ky.

Transportation Secretary Joe Prather said yesterday that the state's road fund can't pay for the $4.1 billion Ohio River Bridges Project and other large highway ventures, and he supports finding new ways to finance them. Prather stopped short of endorsing a specific source of additional money, although his remarks came weeks before the state Transportation Cabinet expects to issue a report evaluating whether tolls are feasible for the Ohio River project. "There is no way in my opinion that solely out of road fund dollars that the bridges project or any mega-project for that matter can go forward without some type of cooperation and creative approach to fund it," Prather told a House transportation panel. The options the General Assembly considers -- possibly tolls and government partnerships with private companies -- may determine how lawmakers deal with ventures such as the Brent Spence Bridge replacement in Northern Kentucky and the proposed Interstate 66 through Southern Kentucky. "This is the first of a series of mega-projects we're going to have to address," said Rep. Don Pasley, D-Winchester, chairman of the House budget review subcommittee on transportation. Pasley and Prather both commended Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville, who has filed a bill that would give local authorities more control over projects. The bill could allow local authorities to take steps such as levying tolls, issuing bonds and contracting with private companies to build and manage roads. A Senate transportation panel could take up the measure as soon as next week. "I think that his bill is an excellent framework for looking at a creative way to deal with mega-projects," Prather said. Several lawmakers said the state needs to seriously investigate alternative financing, especially in light of new estimates showing that the balance of Kentucky's road fund will drop sharply over the next two years.

But Jackie Green, a public transportation supporter who attended the meeting, said tolls and other possible financing options will be an added expense for drivers. "The public is not going to accept that," he said. "Those are disincentives to drive in a motor vehicle system."

Mike Hancock, the cabinet's chief of staff, wasn't able to answer lawmakers' questions about possible toll prices because the toll study is not yet complete. The state has denied The Courier-Journal's open records request for the study, saying it is not finished. The bridges project -- new spans downtown and in eastern Jefferson County and a reconstructed Spaghetti Junction interchange -- would require $1.4 billion, or one-fourth of Kentucky's six-year highway plan revenue through 2014, transportation officials said. Those estimates are based on a "pay-as-you-go" model, under which the legislature would continuously allocate Kentucky's traditional state and federal transportation funds. That money comes largely from gasoline taxes, but a national trust fund that provides dollars for such ventures is expected to start running a deficit next year. Meanwhile, the cash on hand in the state's road fund, the source of money for state construction, maintenance and highway resurfacing, is expected to drop to $10.5 million in October 2009. The state's goal is to keep a balance of more than $100 million. According to a financial plan approved by the federal government earlier this month, $345 million will be needed over the next two years for construction on the bridges project to be finished by 2024. The cabinet has not said how much it intends to seek for the bridges project in the state's six-year highway plan, which it plans to submit to legislators late this month or early next month.

After yesterday's meeting, the reaction was mixed from supporters and opponents of the project. Leslie Barras, associate director of the land conservation group River Fields, which opposes an eastern span, said she appreciated Prather's candor about the state's finances. But she said the state still doesn't have the money to proceed with the project. "We shouldn't be buying property (and) starting construction until we have a realistic funding plan -- creative financing or not," she said. Tyler Allen, a founder of the 8664 group pushing for an eastern bridge and removing a portion of Interstate 64 downtown, said transportation officials corroborated 8664's belief that the traditional ways of funding the project will be difficult. Allen touted his alternative, which an engineer says will cost $2.2 billion, as a different approach. "It's better, faster and less expensive," he said.

While the state may not be able to afford the bridges project under conventional financing, Prather said the cabinet supports the project. "They reiterated the strong need for the project," said Kay Stewart of the Build the Bridges Coalition.