Roads are a government problem

By Joel Myhre (Contact) | The Daily Journal

Published Saturday, February 23, 2008

In my travels over the years, I have driven in a lot of states, most recently in Indiana and Michigan. The one thing I had discovered was a combination that I, as a long-time Minnesota resident, could not figure out: toll roads and potholes.

At least until recently, we in Minnesota have been spoiled. Our roads, for many years, have been superior to those in other states. I was driving in Michigan this week, and, having to wipe the spilled coffee off of my jacket, I commented to my companion, “Man, this road is bad.” He said to me, “This is one of the good ones.”

At the same time, these states require drivers to pay tolls on their major highways. For those foreign to the concept (for many years, I was one of them), as you drive by a station, you’re supposed to pay a fee. (I haven’t figured out what happens when you don’t have any change with you; I guess you just put in an IOU).

What this says to me is that, over the years, while the Minnesota state government has, at least until recent years, been faithfully providing at least adequate funding for transportation, other state governments have not.

These other governments, I’m thinking, also were a little too smart for their own good. They believed that, by doing these toll roads -- thus collecting from truckers, tourists and other non-residents – they would be able to cut back on state funding for transportation. And my bet is that there’s a big shortfall between the revenue these toll roads were projected to generate and the amount they are actually generating.

Clearly, the term “throwing money at a problem doesn’t necessarily solve it,” is valid when it comes to solving a lot of the issues government attempts to solve. However, with roads, it seems pretty simple: only so many cars can fit on a road at one time, and only so many cars can drive on a road before it begins to break down. And the only way to fix roads is to pay for them.

The other thing about roads: there’s no question that it’s a government problem. There never has been, and I’m going to bet never will be, a way to make our transportation system a private, for-profit business. Anyone thinks there’s a sound argument to suggest otherwise, and I have some nice tracts of land in Florida I could sell them.

It seems like Gov. Tim Pawlenty believes he has somehow figured out some magic formula for keeping our roads in good condition, easing the traffic congestion in the Twin Cities area (and believe me, after driving through that mess a few times, I’d like the government to solve that problem as well), but yet avoids spending any additional money, which would allow him to honor his “no new taxes” pledge.

He’s fooling himself.

Now, that’s not to say that the DFL leadership in the Legislature isn’t going overboard a bit. Clearly, they feel they have earned political capital following the 35W bridge collapse. While I have not analyzed whether a 5 cent per gallon gasoline tax would break families, chances are the DFL leadership may be asking for more than the public can chew. Especially when some have to take out loans to fill up their tank these days.

That said, I’m hoping Pawlenty isn’t going to adopt a George W. Bush, no-holds-barred, feet-in-the-sand approach on this issue. When we elected Pawlenty, my first thought was that we elected a Republican microphone guy.

If he sticks his head in the sand on transportation funding, my initial thought seems to be correct, as I spill my coffee running over another pothole.

Joel Myhre is The Journal’s general manager. E-mail him at joel.myhre@fergusfallsjournal.com