State transportation debate has changed

Bridge collapse raises awareness of underfunding's risk.

Published: August 05, 2007

http://www.startribune.com/editorials/story/1343150.html

When the concrete and steel that was the Interstate 35W bridge tumbled into the
Mississippi River Wednesday, the long-running Minnesota debate over how and how much
to invest in transportation took a sharp turn. We hope it proves to be a decisive
one.

There can be no doubt that today, the adequacy and safety of the rest of this state's
roads and bridges is Minnesotans' No. 1 public policy concern.

That's a change. As recently as one year ago, Minnesota House DFLers crafted a
successful campaign to win the chamber's majority around a "back to basics" theme
that emphasized six issues. Transportation was not one of them.

In that same election, Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty won a second term despite his
2005 veto of a major transportation funding bill that included a 10-cent increase in
the highway-dedicated gas tax. He vetoed a similar bill with a 5-cent increase this
year, and suffered no dip in public approval as a result.

That suggests that, while many Minnesotans knew that their state was not spending
enough to maintain existing roads and bridges at recommended levels, they were
willing to tolerate the risk that entailed, to avoid raising taxes.

They were, until Wednesday night.

It's too soon to conclude that inadequate maintenance caused the I-35W bridge
collapse. Any claim to that effect today deserves to be met with skepticism.

Prevention of a similar catastrophe is another matter. More than 1,100 other bridges
in the state have defects that earn them the same "structurally deficient" rating
that the I-35W bridge had. Another 451 bridges have a still-lower "functionally
obsolete" rating.

They are but a portion of total unmet transportation infrastructure needs. Catching
up, just on maintenance and just on state roads, would require a sustained investment
of an additional $525 million per year for at least the next decade.

Officials have long known those numbers. Now Minnesotans know them, too, and can
better appreciate their implication for safety. Tolerance of risky infrastructure
likely has diminished dramatically in the past four days.

To his credit, Pawlenty appeared to acknowledge that changed reality Friday, and
respond to it. He said on TPT's "Almanac" that he had told legislative leaders he is
now willing to "consider and put on the table a gas tax increase."

That's a major concession by the governor, and an essential one. Until last week,
Pawlenty had advocated a highway bonding program one-tenth the size that
transportation advocates said was needed to keep up with repairs and mounting traffic
congestion -- before the bridge came down. Those needs have just increased. The
governor is right to concede that his funding proposal has to grow as well. A third
option is to rearrange funding priorities and spend a higher percentage of state
funds on infrastructure.

The next time legislators take up this issue -- and that should be in a special
session this fall -- they should be met with a gubernatorial position much closer to
their own. The debate is forever changed, and should soon be resolved. Minnesotans
will insist on it.