Local Bus Service Opens New Facility, Highway Funding Debacle Sparks Debate

This week, I met with Senator Rod Skoe, and Representatives Kent Eken and Bernie Lieder for the grand opening ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Tri-Valley Opportunity Council transit building in Crookston. Transit dollars go to buses or public transportation, as opposed to highways. The Tri-Valley Heartland Express Bus runs in Polk, Pennington, Norman, Red Lake and Marshall Counties, as well as the cities of Crookston and Thief River Falls. The new building was authorized in the 2002 state bonding bill, and will house the administrative offices plus training and bus storage.

Like the bus services in Hubbard, Beltrami and Clearwater Counties, the Tri-Valley bus is available to everyone – there are no income or age limits and it's handicap accessible. It provides rides to folks going to and from work, doctor's appointments or shopping – in 2005, the Tri-Valley bus provided over 75,500 rides. In addition, the five-county volunteer driver system with over 65 drivers helps people in need of a ride get where they need to go when buses are not running. If you're interested in volunteering to help drive, call your local county bus system.

It's great to have the service of these buses in our area – the bus is a lifeline for those without cars or folks who don't drive. Going to events like this ribbon-cutting reminds me why we fought to keep Greater Minnesota transit in the state budget last session.

No Bids on Highway Project Sparks Debate

There has been a lot of talk about transportation funding recently with the state getting no bids on the Crosstown freeway project. As you may know, the state transportation department, MnDOT, is running short on cash. In order to start a major Twin Cities project to fix the bottleneck at the I-35W/Highway 62 Crosstown interchange this summer, MnDOT came up with a new idea. The department asked contractors bidding on the project to loan the state $96 million to fund the project until federal funding becomes available in 2008.

We learned last week that the state received no bids on the project. This should not have come as a surprise - what contractor can afford to front the state almost $100 million for over two years?

While this may be a metro project, it has consequences for people who live in our area. With each delay the price tag for this project increases, eating up our tax dollars that could be used to fix Northern Minnesota roads. Earlier this year MnDOT was forced to shift $100 million from the federal funding for Greater Minnesota roads to Twin Cities roads projects because of a $300 million funding shortfall.

Last year, Democrats and Republicans worked together in the Minnesota House and the Senate to develop a comprehensive transportation-funding package to fix rural and metro roads and fund our transit systems like the Tri-Valley Bus. This transportation plan relied on a variety of funding mechanisms, but it was vetoed by the Governor. Without significant funding our roads and transit, I worry we will back ourselves into the corner of taking money that really should be spent on schools and nursing homes. I have grave concerns about underfunding and taking from other vital programs that benefit our area.

Without funding, we can't build and maintain our roads. The result is more potholes, less safety and more wear and tear on our cars and trucks. Rural roads already account for the majority of fatalities from car accidents. And less road maintenance also means less plowing and de-icing in the winter.

Our roads are in serious trouble. The evidence? Beside the Crosstown debacle, we learned recently that the percentage of the state's highway miles rated as smooth dropped from 81 percent in 2000 to 67 percent last year. This is the third year in a row the department has missed its goal of having 70 percent or more of highways with a smooth surface. Before 2002, it had met the target for more than 20 years. An unprecedented amount of borrowing has been authorized. That borrowing is beginning to catch up with us as more and more of our state and federal transportation funds are being used to pay interest.

I'm not saying the sky is falling, but as your state representative, I respect folks around here enough to be honest about the reality of the situation. This is not the way we do things in Minnesota – we need a return to fiscal responsibility and a pay-as-you-go approach to fixing our roads.

If you have comments or questions on these or any other legislative issues, please contact me. I can be reached at 327 State Office Building, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55155; toll free at (800) 920-5867; at home at (218) 732-4562; or by e-mail at rep.brita.sailer@house.mn.