Today I went to the State Capitol in Nashville to work on a couple of road projects that are in various stages of completion.  My meeting was with several State Senators, the Chief Engineer for TDOT and the Commissioner.  I arrived quite early while there was still a Joint Study Committee meeting for the Tennessee Department of Transportation.  Rep. Philip Pinion heads the House portion and Senator Jim Tracy heads the Senate side.  Basically, lawmakers listen to presentations by various TDOT, county and city officials about all matters pertaining to transportation.  There were the usual reports with new growth numbers and some great news.  Looming like a storm cloud over the hearing room, however, was something we all knew.  TDOT is about $280 million dollars in the deficit just over the past 5 years. 

            This shortage comes from many factors, but the Governor taking considerable funds to balance the budget, coupled with the federal government taking back tens of millions of appropriated dollars are two.  In addition, the cost of building a road in the past year has gone up 20%, and the gas tax revenue which primarily funds these projects has gone up 1%.  An increase in the cost of asphalt, cement and other raw materials for building roads has been affected by higher oil prices to quite a degree.  Some counties in this state will only be able to pave each road every 100 years under their current funding formulas.

            This problem is BIG.  Count on it becoming a true giant on Capitol Hill when the debates begin.  No matter what is decided-a new gas tax, toll roads, etc., something must be done.  I am sure there are ways to rearrange some current funds and I will conduct thorough due diligence on those possibilities.

            Both parties are going to have to work together and we will need a lot of help from the general public.  I encourage folks to talk to me if they have bona fide experience in this area.  You can talk to me about anything, but I am anxious to learn more about toll roads, their authorities, track records, etc.  I have but one vote in Nashville, but so does everybody else.

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