If TxDOT is as broke as they claim, and demand is flat, then why would they worry so much about anything beyond maintaining the Texas roads we already have?
Note: We received this timely commentary via an alert Driftwood area resident. Much appreciated. It certainly brings the question home to Hays County, i.e., the need for more road construction from the 2008 road bond and beyond, and the mounting cost of maintenance. Makes one wonder what kind of baloney we're all being fed.
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Everyone knows that TxDOT loves to build roads. And so do the contractors that TxDOT hires. And not only do these contractors love to build the roads, but they are generously willing to help elect the politicians who decide to build these roads.But at some point, somebody really needs to ask if we need more roads in Texas than we already have. The answer is that we probably don't. How do we know that? The most recent Federal Highway Administration data shows that from Nov. 2008 to Nov. 2009, the actual use of roads in Texas only increased by .1%, as we see here:
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ohim/tvtw/09novtvt/page6.cfm
Consider the implications. The legislature is not willing to raise the gas tax, so this necessarily causes the gas tax revenue, both the state and federal portions, to be about flat. Which situation then makes it really really hard for TxDOT to borrow against this revenue stream, which is falling short of even keeping up with inflation. Even though the travel demand on their current roads is flat, they still want to build more roads, which would obviously cause TxDOT's maintenance funding shortfall to get even bigger.
If TxDOT is as broke as they claim, and demand is flat, then why would they worry so much about anything beyond maintaining the Texas roads we already have? At least not until someday when the economy recovers and/or we discover a new supply of cheap oil, causing people to start driving more and needing lots of new road capacity, right?
TxDOT likes to complain that they can barely afford to maintain their current Texas roads. But the way they chose to deal with the problem is in a way that may be nice for their contractors, but is practically guaranteed to make TxDOT's maintenance problem worse.
Like they say, when things can't go on any longer, they won't. - Roger
3 comments:
First of all, Roger makes the assumption that finding cheaper sources of oil will be a primary reason we see increased driving in Texas. Unfortunately the implied thought that oil will continue to be the main resource of our driving is part of the problem. Renewable energy, even natural gas as a first step, would be a better automatic mindset for future analysis. Light and high speed rail systems should be our second "resource." Actions follow the mind.
Second, TXDot is a government agency. And government agencies are funded by tax dollars of some sort. It is just plain foolish for Texans to oppose some form of higher taxes so that TXDot can keep our roads in good shape. If our roads are in bad shape, over time our vehicles will need constant repairs of some sort, the cost of which would offset any anti-tax sentiment that seems to be the mantra these days. Almost nothing is free, especially when it comes to our transportation. Besides, who wants to feel like we're driving in Venezuela?
In the end, though, Roger makes an implied point about cronyism at TXDot. Any new taxes must preclude building new roads if TXDot can't even budget for the state's road maintenance. TXDot needs to work for the people who pays their bills - the citizens of Texas. If the TXDot managers want to brown nose government officials or cater to their business cronies, they could make more money doing it by resigning and opening a gentleman's club.
And while we're at it, TXDot should at least have more workers at the projects than supervisors. Almost every time I drive by road work I see two or three workers doing the work and three or four supervisors watching the work. What is that about?
There are probably plenty of ways to shift costs at TXDot so our roads can be maintained. But that may be asking for too much problem solving and changing of bad habits. Getting rid of Perry would be a good first start.
You folks are forgetting a very important issue pertaining to the gasoline tax revenue.
It is a fact that 40 percent of the gas tax revenue goes to other interests than the building and maintenance of our roadways, which was the original intent of the tax and its revenue.
This is NOT supposed to be a General Slush Fund.
Legislators need to close that loop, especially when they continue to freeze the gas tax under the ongoing Perry rule.
Consider how much money that over the past decade. That's a lot of paving and repairing.
Voters should get their reps cracking on eliminating that revenue going to other interests.
A very good point, Mr. Stern. Pretend I wrote that in my initial comments.
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