Minnesota needs safer transportation
More Minnesotans were killed and injured in traffic crashes in 2018 than in 2017, with an estimated 380 people losing their lives on our roadways. Distracted and impaired driving is a big factor, to be sure. But, with safer roads human error doesn’t have to be a death sentence. The majority of fatalities and injuries occur on two-lane, undivided roadways in rural areas – the exact types of roadways that are persistently underfunded by the state. You read that right – even with a budget surplus – highway money will be underfunded unless the Legislature and Governor act.
Funding for roads and bridges is receiving more attention as a new Legislature convenes and a new Governor is sworn into office. While debates continue about the best way to pay for infrastructure investments, both political parties actually agree that we are underfunding our transportation system and that additional funding should be found during the 2019 Session.
Minnesota is projected to have a surplus in the state’s general fund, but highway funding relies on Minnesota’s Highway Trust Fund which faces a chronic deficit. Minnesota voters have decided that user fees like the fuel tax and license tab fees should be constitutionally dedicated – ensuring that those dollars can only be used to fix roads and bridges. These state highway trust fund dollars are not and cannot be used for transit or any other government services – they are used to fix our roads.
Unfortunately, we don’t have enough money in the Highway Trust Fund and therefore many important corridors wait years – even decades – for needed safety and efficiency improvements.
Why do roads and bridges need more funding? Construction costs are rising, demand on the system is increasing with more and heavier trucks, the population is growing with increasing congestion and our infrastructure is aging.
Maintaining our state’s infrastructure in good repair is clearly a core government function. The Legislature and Governor should make funding for all modes of transportation a top priority for the 2019 Session – especially since they already agree on the basic premise. Our state can’t afford to wait, arguing over funding, while the infrastructure deteriorates, businesses move elsewhere, people remain stranded from jobs and services, and the fatality and injury rates from roadway crashes remain in the thousands every year.
As county commissioners, we see first-hand the impact on the local property tax burden when state and federal funds are inadequate. This is the year to build on the work done last biennium and provide increased, dedicated funding that makes a difference for our state and all of its residents.
Tarryl Clark, Stearns County
Vance Stuehrenberg, Blue Earth County
Michael Potter, Wright County
