Exploring new ways to fund transportation projects and road repair

Transportation projects are not always about new capacity for automobiles and trucks. Transportation projects may include improvements for, airports, railroads, mass transit, bike lanes and walking paths. These projects are often constructed to help environmental impact, provide for better safety and more economical ways for people to do there business or pleasure.

Road repair is an ongoing issue with the orange cones on what seems like all busy roadways. Maintenance on a road is much like maintenance of the human body. If you wait too long to fix it, it may be too late and have to be replaced at much higher cost than proper maintenance.
For most of you reading this you live in Nevada and California where gas taxes fund most of your transportation construction projects.

Here are the current amounts these states charge for gas taxes:
— The gas tax in California has not been increased since 1994. Currently, the state gas tax in California 18 cents per gallon plus the 18.4 cents a gallon for the federal gas tax. In addition California has a sales tax on their gas tax unlike Nevada.
(Note: there are also additional local government gas taxes that vary)
— In Nevada the gas tax has not been raised since 1992.
— The Nevada state gas tax is 24 cent per gallon plus the 18.4 cents for the federal gas tax. (Note: there are also additional local government gas taxes that vary)

Would you say the price of a car, the price of asphalt, the price of concrete and the price of food have all increased since 1994? Obviously, these price increases are needed to keep up with inflation and costs of goods.
One of the challenges almost every state faces is that gas tax is not keeping up with inflation and costs of goods.
States are looking for various ways to fund transportation projects to help fix this critical infrastructure.

One of the options the Tahoe Transportation District is considering is a coalition of the five surrounding counties of Lake Tahoe. (Placer and El Dorado counties in California along with Washoe, Carson and Douglas counties in Nevada)
All five of these counties border the shores of Lake Tahoe but a plurality of the population lives and works in the surrounding valleys while they recreate near or on Lakeshore.
This presents a significant funding challenge for the jewel of the high Sierra, Lake Tahoe.

The idea of the coalition is to have these counties have their population assist with additional funding for improvements to the transportation systems at Lake Tahoe. A sampling of these improvements are listed on the website.

These projects are intended to have a positive environmental, safety and economic impacts on the basin.

These impacts include:
— Increasing the clarity of Lake Tahoe by reducing the environmental impact that urban transportation affects have on the lake. More biking and walking trails to help reduce the amount of vehicles on the roads.
— Increase the safety of those that recreate and travel the roads around the Lake Tahoe Basin
— Increased economic development and tourist appeal by attracting higher quality projects and geo-tourist to the basin.

For more information visit the Tahoe Transportation District website here.