NPR All Things Considered: Failing Bridges Take a Toll
media mention“Asphalt costs are higher, machinery costs are higher. Construction workers’ wages are usually higher,” says Carl Davis of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy in Washington. “So the revenues that we’re chipping in aren’t keeping pace with the costs that we have.”
Davis says the federal government can borrow money to fund transportation projects. But states don’t have that luxury. So a growing number are turning to gas taxes.
He says the trend started in states like Maryland and Pennsylvania. Now he says at least a dozen states are talking about raising gas taxes — including some you might not expect.
“Iowa, South Carolina, Tennessee — these states haven’t seen their gas tax rate go up in over a quarter century,” Davis says.
“Roads and bridges — it’s not a politically divisive issue,” he adds. “These are things that need to be maintained if the economy is going to work.”