In This Issue

	Bellevue Commits $150M for Downtown Light Rail Tunnel
	Rail still on Track as Road Projects are Delayed, Dropped
	Mississippi Gov. signs Transportation Bond Package
	Maryland Lawmakers Delay Transportation Spending
	Trucking Industry will not Support VMT
	Senator Kerry Rejects Climate Bill Fuel Tax Reports
	Lowry Bridge Project loses $10M in Stimulus Funding

Bellevue Commits $150M for Downtown Light Rail Tunnel

BELLEVUE, Wa. – The Bellevue City Council voted 4-3 on Monday to approve a “term sheet” requested by the Sound Transit light rail authority to commit $150 million in financial support to build a light rail tunnel through downtown. The city unanimously prefers the tunnel rather than the less-costly surface route originally approved by Sound Transit because the council wants to keep trains separated from traffic. At the city’s request, Sound Transit designed a shorter tunnel route for its Eastlink light rail through the city’s central business district that would cost $200 million less and be more doable if the city pledged financial assistance.

Following Monday’s approval, Sound Transit’s Board of Directors voted Thursday to advance the tunnel plan, which will run beneath 110th Avenue Northeast. Bellevue City Council’s financial commitment makes building the “C9T” tunnel more realistic, despite it costing an extra $320 million over the surface alternative.

East Link is scheduled to start construction in 2014, with light rail service to Bellevue open by 2014, as part of a regional transit package approved by voters in 2008. It includes the extension of light rail from Seattle, across Lake Washington on I-90, through Bellevue, to the Overlake Transit Center in Redmond.

Rail still on Track as Road Projects are Delayed, Dropped

Nearly $119 million worth of highway improvements in Central Florida have been delayed or canceled amid diminishing state tax dollars, including widening a section of I-4 to relieve congestion through downtown Orlando. The state’s planned $1.2 billion SunRail commuter train project is still on schedule.

Declining tax revenues earmarked for roadwork in the state, particularly from vehicle registration and licensing fees have cut $75 million from transportation funding for this budget year alone. To account for the drop -- projected at $488 million for the five-year work plan, FDOT has made cuts or postponed projects across the state.

“My orders are the same: Keep moving forward on the project,” said Todd Hammerle, who is in charge of SunRail for the Florida Department of Transportation. House lawmakers rejected a proposal to delay SunRail for a year, which legislators contend will create thousands of construction jobs and provide an alternative to commuters. The train is a top priority of area leaders for several years, with construction possibly beginning next year. Operation of the first 31 miles could begin by 2013, with the entire 61-mile system open by 2015. By comparison, adding an additional lane to I-4 in either direction for 61 miles could cost up to $7 billion.

Mississippi Gov. signs Transportation Bond Package

JACKSON, Miss. – A bill authorizing more than $300 million in bonds to pay for highway and bridge projects in Mississippi was signed by Gov. Haley Barbour this week. The bill includes $90 million in improvements to highways connecting to a newly built Toyota plant that has not yet opened, near Blue Springs in northeastern part of the state. The governor called the roads leading to the Toyota plant “very, very important.”

The bill contains $100 million for repairs or replacements to state highways, with another $20 million apiece for local bridges and roads. It also provides funding for U.S. Highway 49 improvements near Camp Shelby south of Hattiesburg, and to construct new interchanges at the north and south gates of the camp.

Maryland Lawmakers Delay Transportation Spending

Maryland legislators concluded their 2010 session with a decision to form a special commission to consider alternative funding sources for highway projects in the state, leaving transportation advocates optimistic that a solution may be in sight. Before the session closed on April 12, both chambers voted to support the commission, which will release an interim report in 2011 and conclude its study in 2012

The commission’s findings may boost support for proposed bills that failed in recent years, such as raising the state gas tax or tying increases to the Construction Cost Index. Gov. Martin O’Malley, likely to defend his post against former Republican Gov. Robert Ehrlich, acknowledges that the state’s ability to pay for transportation improvements has diminished, and that state and federal governments need to find a way to raise more money for roadwork. “Relying on a per-gallon fuel tax is antiquated,” O’Malley said.

Trucking Industry will not Support VMT

MINNEAPOLIS – Truckers are adamantly opposed to implementing Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) taxes, which the head of the American Trucking Associations (ATA) says have proved costly to administer, enforce, and observe. ATA Vice President Bob Pitcher spoke this week at the Symposium on Mileage-Based User Fees in Minneapolis, telling attendees the industry regards a VMT tax as a weight-distance tax; more than 20 states have repealed such taxes as outdated and ineffective.

“Imagine the bureaucracy needed to oversee and collect VMT fees from millions of highway users,” Pitcher said, adding that such systems have also proven vulnerable to evasion even when supervision of collection has been set up. “Keeping track of a gallon of fuel, a valuable, tangible product, is far easier than keeping track of a mile traveled.”

As hybrid and electric vehicles lessen the demand for gasoline, finding an alternative to the federal tax on gasoline is a far more urgent need than finding a different approach to the fuel tax on diesel, according to the ATA. Currently there is no readily available alternative to diesel fuel for over-the-road trucks, so diesel consumption remains relatively stable, Pitcher said. ATA is the largest national trade association for the trucking industry, representing 37,000 members in the U.S.

The ATA doesn’t like tolls or VMT along with many others. I won’t even mention using property taxes to pay for transportation as that would be heresy. Sales tax is a viable solution but many states have hit a “perceived” ceiling on that revenue stream, plus it is a major source of funding for transit and local road improvements. Many other potential funding options exist such as registration fees, rental car fees or other assessments. None of these raise money in sufficient amounts to fill our current funding chasm.

Almost universally, elected officials don’t want a gas tax. Congress is considering climate change legislation that will strike at the carbon aspects of motor fuels with a possible impact of 15 cents per gallon. Supporters of the current Senate bill say the price of their carbon plan will not be levied at the pump but would be assessed to big oil companies who will have to absorb it. As if the big oil companies aren’t going to send to users any government imposed fees?! The bottom line: there will never be a unanimous solution. The resolution will be hard to swallow but even though medicine can have a bitter taste you still have to take it to get well. TW

Senator Kerry Rejects Climate Bill Fuel Tax Reports

The U.S. climate bill to be released next week will not contain any form of the controversial proposals for taxes on road fuel, according to Senator John Kerry. Reports from environmental groups and business leaders briefed by the bi-partisan committee working on the measure, said previous drafts contained an oil products levy, linked to the price of carbon determined by the emissions trade plan also included in the bill.

There is not even a linked fee," Sen. Kerry told reporters this week, adding that any legislation to boost fuel prices would be difficult to pass as pump prices are already expected to reach record highs this summer. "There's not a tax, there's nothing similar." Kerry would not give details on the reason for the apparent change in plans, but insisted the draft bill did not contain anything pertaining to the initial reports.

The most recent change emphasizes lawmakers' awareness of the fine line they must walk to secure bi-partisan support needed for the bill to survive the Senate, while keeping the legislation demanding enough to cut emissions. Kerry's comments followed those of Republican Senator Lindsey Graham's spokesperson, who has been working on the bill with Kerry and independent Senator Joe Lieberman, who also indicated the bill did not contain a "gas tax."

Lowry Bridge Project loses $10M in Stimulus Funding

The federal government quietly retracted $10 million in funding it had previously committed to Minnesota's Lowry Avenue Bridge, because of a Hennepin County minority hiring regulation. The stimulus funding was committed before the project entered the bidding process.

"The hang-up was we put it out to bid, and that whoever bids on it must have a minority hiring program," said Hennepin County Commissioner Mark Stenglein. He said the county's hiring partner on the project is Minneapolis-based Summit Academy, a vocational training school with 82 percent minority enrollment.

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) spokesman Doug Hecox explained the agency's position: "Earlier this year, the FHWA informed the Minnesota Department of Transportation and Hennepin County that 'local hiring preference' provisions are not allowed in contracts for federally funded highway projects."

David Lawless, head of budget and finance for Hennepin County said that plans for the project replace the subtracted stimulus funding with state bridge funding. The Lowry Avenue Bridge and approach funding package totals $104.2 million.