(The following story by Michael Hooper appeared on The Capital-Journal website on January 16.)
TOPEKA, Kan. — The United States needs to invest at least $225 billion annually for the next 50 years to overhaul its transportation system to relieve congestion, improve public safety, reduce fuel consumption and increase passenger rail service, the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission said Tuesday.
Meanwhile, a Kansas Department of Transportation report says Kansas should double its spending to $2.9 billion annually to improve transportation. A Kansas watchdog said a cost/benefit analysis needs to be done before the state commits additional money to transportation.
The federal “Transportation for Tomorrow: Report of the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission,” was released Tuesday after more than two years of study by the commission, established in 2005 by Congress.
“We need to invest at least $225 billion annually from all sources for the next 50 years to upgrade our existing system to a state of good repair and create a more advanced surface transportation system to sustain and ensure strong economic growth for our families,” the report said. “We are spending less than 40 percent of this amount today.”
The report shows a need for improvements in passenger rail service to include additional routes, including Emporia to Oklahoma City and Kansas City, Mo., to Omaha, Neb., by 2050.
The report calls for creative funding systems, including more tolls by users. Government policy should encourage private investment and direct public funds toward projects which improve traffic flow.
National Surface Transportation commissioner Matthew K. Rose, who is chairman and chief executive officer of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp., said he shares the conclusion of the federal commission’s report that passenger rail service — intercity and commuter — will need to grow to give Americans more affordable, sustainable choices in light of higher fuel prices, growing transportation congestion and environmental concerns.
Rose, however, supports the principle that access by passenger trains to freight rail lines, where reasonable, must be negotiated at an arm’s length to ensure that rail freight capacity is not reduced.
John Mills, a passenger rail transportation advocate in Topeka, said a BNSF rail line from Kansas City, Mo., to Topeka sits dormant most of the day. Amtrak runs on that line for a short time in the middle of the night, but that line could be used to increase commuter service between Topeka and Kansas City during the day, he said.
KDOT’s Long Range Transportation Plan says Kansas should spend a total of $2.9 billion annually to improve roads, bridges, bike paths and transit systems, but the state only has $1.4 billion in revenue for transportation, creating a funding gap of $1.5 billion annually.
Alan Cobb, state director of Americans for Prosperity, said KDOT needs to prioritize goals, using a cost/benefit analysis before committing additional money to transportation. Kansas is among the top five states in terms of funding per capita in transportation but in the bottom 10 in terms of roads traveled.
“We have a lot of roads that are lightly traveled,” said Cobb.
Cobb said the Legislature has been extremely generous to KDOT by providing two transportation programs worth more than $15 billion since 1989.