 |
 |
 |
||
|
||||
|
December 7, 2005
Experts hire expert to help with Nevada highway studyBy THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The task force, which wants to have a report completed in time for the 2007 Legislature, agreed on consultant Tom Warne. A final contract hasn't been negotiated, but he could get up to $60,000 for analyzing the need for future highway projects and how to pay for them. Warne is former head of the Utah Department of Transportation and a former deputy chief of the Arizona Department of Transportation. He also served as president of the American Association of state Highway and Transportation Officials. The task force also scheduled several more meetings to assess transportation needs and costs and set priorities - and to try to determine whether citizens would support tax increases to generate money for road projects. The next meeting is Jan. 26 in Carson City. Nevada Transportation Director Jeff Fontaine provided a report to the panel showing that Nevada, with combined state, federal and local gasoline taxes of 52 cents a gallon, has the fifth highest fuel levy of any state. Hawaii is first at just over 59 cents and Alaska is last at about 30 cents a gallon. Fontaine also outlined concerns about an initiative petition aimed at preserving property rights. He said the proposal would cause numerous problems for the state in its acquisition of rights-of-way for new highways. Gov. Kenny Guinn, who chairs the state Transportation Board that formed the task force, has said the state is now involved in its largest highway construction program ever - but starting in 2008 many more projects will be needed to keep pace with Nevada's rapid growth. Fontaine has said there's enough money for the current construction projects - but from 2008 until 2014 there's an expected shortfall of $2.4 billion in the budget for building new roads and maintaining existing ones. Guinn also said that if the public doesn't support a tax increase, the highway construction and improvement program probably would have to be scaled back. He said Fontaine's shortfall estimate probably is conservative. |
|
