Funding … It’s a Money Thing …

From New York to Seattle, across the Golden Plains… in what sounds like a Lee Greenwood song, raising money for transportation seems to be a theme song.

In Manhattan it’s Congestion/Cordon pricing, Seattle a rise in fuel costs and for the rest of the country a multitude of projects to be funded by the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)… supposedly.

With a projected $200 Billion shortfall in 10 years, the Highway Trust Fund has not had an increase in its funding (gas tax revenue) since the 1993. This fund has typically funded 25% of States highway projects. So what might these all have in common?

Not only will we be asked to pay tolls but there is talk of raising gas prices to to pay for Emission Allowances and a rise in the Federal gas tax in order to supply monies for the Highway Trust Fund.

You may now move freely around the Country…

In Short

Article 1 – As Manhattan looks to implement the Nation’s first Congestion/Cordoned tolling project in 2024, New Jersey’s Governor looks to block it. And while Governor Murphy is not opposed to tolling, he is opposed to an improperly crafted pricing mechanism.

The lawyers are being positioned in what could be a future far reaching court decision.

Article 2 – Ecological impact, aka environmental Impact, plays a big role in tolling. Moving vehicles off the road reduces the ecological impact of a given area at a given time. Do note that moving vehicles to a different time of day only changes the time of CO2 emissions… it does not eliminate it… and slower diversion traffic creates more.

In the name of saving the environment, the auction of Emission Allowances, in Washington State, has raised millions of dollars. That number is said to be over $850 million over the past 18 months… we are trying to cite that info. And as a result of the the last allowance auction, the gas tax went up $0.46 cents. Coming to Oregon… we do not know.

FYI, there are links in the article if you wish to know more about Emission Allowances.

Article 3 – The future of transportation is taking on a very expensive feel. In this article, from DeLoitte Insights, is the need, vision and complexity of a grande transportation plan… one that will take massive amounts of funding and orchestration.