European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 22, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Magazines a illustration Lisa Rivard . Transportation dilemma worsens As interstate highways age by William . Baltimore Sun Hile America s interstate Highway system is now no More than five years from completion the Federal government s involvement in paying for the superhighways and other seemingly insatiable transportation needs is far from Over. Even before it came close to being finished this network of More than 43,000 Miles of Roadway which changed the face of America connecting larger cities and providing routes for military movements was already strained beyond what it was designed to do when it was undertaken 32 years ago. Highways such As interstate 95 in Maryland Virginia and Delaware Are choked in Many areas with commuter traffic not intended for the High Speed freeways. Others Are in deep need of repairs which Are paid for through a $2.8 billion a year Federal rehabilitation budget that is sure to grow in the future As the aging highways continue to deteriorate. You can say the interstate system is there but it s a system that s been designed for yesterday s traffic said Anthony r. Kane an associate Federal Highway administrator who chairs an internal task Force on the future of the National Highway program. And state Highway officials As Well As special interest groups already Are lining up peddling new ways to spend Money from the sacrosanct . Highway Trust fund the source of interstate construction Money and other Federal Highway Aid after 1991, when Congress last authorization for spending runs out. Private and Public study groups and task forces have been formed to determine what the Federal role should be their recommendations Are As varied As the groups themselves. Outside the spectrum of transportation needs there Are proposals for tapping the Highway Trust fund for such endeavours As reducing the Federal deficit constructing new sewers As part of a National Grant program and cleaning up the air. Transit advocates Are looking for More Money to Start new subway and Light rail systems though they face a difficult Battle in reversing a trend under the Reagan administration to reduce Federal Aid for local transit. Sure to be High on the wish list put to the Bush administration and the new 101st Congress is a proposal for the Federal government to pay for another multimillion Dollar system of superhighways that is a supplemental interstate or Junior interstate system. There Aren t state resources for these Type projects and construction would require a special Federal program similar to Federal efforts directed to the interstate program since 1956," said Oscar k. Marby Deputy commissioner of the Virginia department of transportation. That s our Hope that there will be some sort of supplemental interstate program coming out of the 1991 legislation said Neil j. Pedersen the Maryland department of transportation s director of planning and preliminary engineering. Perhaps the largest single Effort toward developing an Overall consensus on a National transportation policy Over the next 30 years was undertaken last year by the american association of state Highway and transportation officials. In determining the nation s needs in this respect the group found that even using conservative estimates travel by car truck bus and Public transit will double by 2020, requiring significant increases in the amount of Money spent on both highways and Public transit. In 1987 the nation spent More than $80 billion on transportation including $66 billion on highways and $14.5 billion on Public transit. But to keep up with the growing demand the organization estimates that the level of Overall government funding should increase each year anywhere from a minimum 20 percent to 43 percent Over that amount up to As much As $117.3 billion a year to meet the demand anticipated in 2020. While the american association of state Highway and transportation officials has not called formally for a tax increase to fuel the Highway Trust fund As you look at those figures collectively you can see you have to have some sort of increase on the Federal state or local level said Billy k. Higgins the group s director of congressional relations. On the Federal level the bulk of Revenue for the Highway Trust fund comes from a 9-cent-a-gallon gasoline tax As Well As taxes at different rates on diesel and gasohol. Since 1983, when the Federal gasoline tax was increased a Nickel from 4 cents a gallon a Penny has gone toward transit programs via the . Mass transit account which now has a balance of More than $5 billion. In addition to the fuel tax Revenue for the Trust fund comes from a graduated tax on truck tires weighing More than 40 pounds a 12 percent retail sales tax on heavy trucks More than 26,000 pounds and a graduated heavy use tax on trucks that ranges from $100 to $550 a year. Given the changes in the White House and in sunday january 22, 1989 Congress it is still too Early to determine just How Large and what kind of role the Federal government will play in meeting the increasing Highway Dollar demand although Aid is sure to continue. Currently about 22 percent of the total 3.9 million Miles of streets roads and highways in the nation including the More than 43,000 Miles of interstates Are eligible for some form of Federal Aid. About $14 billion a year is parcelled out to the states for those roadways Money that the states count on for improvements. Of the $14 billion spent annually Between $3 billion and $4 billion has been spent specifically in recent years on completion of the interstate system. By the time the interstates Are completed there will be an estimated surplus of Between $6 billion and $7 billion Federal Highway administration and Treasury department estimates show. But while the estimated surplus and the Money that no longer would be needed for completion of the interstates is a tempting target for a number of groups Highway advocates already Are laying claim to it. The problem is once you put a Highway into being they have to be maintained Higgins said. Highways that we projected would have a 15 to 20 year life Are lasting now maybe 10 years because of the heavier than expected  Congress already has authorized $2.8 billion a Yeai through 1991 for the Federal Highway administrations interstate 4r program which pays for resurfacing restoration rehabilitation and reconstruction of the superhighways. But whatever happens to the rest of the Trust fund that $2.8 billion for repairs is expected to grow As traffic volumes continue to Rise on the Ever aging interstate system an Effort to protect the nation s $121.9 billion investment. Much of the 5-cent-a-gallon gasoline tax increase in 1983 has gone to solving the continuing problem of interstate deterioration through the 4r program but it has not kept up with the new National pastime gridlock. The Nickel improved the condition of the pavement but it did t improve the capacity or congestion problem said Kane of the Federal Highway administration. What we re faced with now is really the need to invest in  but Kane cautioned that states should not look just to the Federal government for help with new Highway construction suggesting instead ideas such As regional transportation taxes sales taxes on gasoline purchases and even the old fashioned tolls As ways to pay for needed Highway Relief. The stars and stripes Page 13