Enjoy the road improvements while we can

Southwest Nebraska is lucky to have been in line to be the site of a "mega" highway project, stretching 47 miles from Cambridge through Holbrook, Arapahoe, Atlanta and Holdrege, at a cost of $18.3 million.

The project is going well, and it's a good thing.

It may be a while before another big project like that is undertaken in our area.

The reason is simple. Cars and gasoline are more expensive, so people are making them last as long as possible.

That translates to less money from state sales taxes on motor vehicles, and less money from fuel taxes to go into repair of old roads and construction of new ones.

According to John Craig, director of the Nebraska Department of Roads, the department can expect to see its funding drop by 15 percent over the next two fiscal years, from $390 million last fiscal year to $330 million in fiscal 2008.

That's on top of 5 percent declines in motor vehicle sales tax receipts for each of the last two years, as well as the decline in fuel tax receipts.

While there's less money to do the work, there's also less work that can be done for each tax dollar, thanks to construction and maintenance costs climbing more than 3 percent each year.

The use of fuel taxes and vehicle sales taxes to fund road repair and construction is one of the most equitable forms of taxation we have in this state. Those who buy cars and drive them over public roads pay more than those who don't own cars or drive them very little.

But with Nebraska's fuel tax already eighth highest in the nation, at 27.1 cents per gallon, politicians are reluctant to raise more money, even though Nebraska fuel prices are comparatively low, ranking 35th in the nation.

As it is, the state is being forced to concentrate on maintaining the current state highway system as well as possible, and large projects, like converting Interstate 80 to six lanes all the way from Lincoln to Omaha, won't take place as quickly.

For the next few years, at least, the state is going to have its hands full maintaining existing roads and completing projects already well under way.

And as for major new proposals, such as the Snowbird Trail stretching diagonally across the state from South Sioux City to McCook -- they're likely to remain just that, proposals, for a long time.

So, next time you drive northeast through Holdrege, remember: We're lucky to get the highway improvements while we can.