Tennessee’s toll lanes aren’t expected to be completed until 2031, leading Sen. Mark Pody to call for a $1 billion annual infusion into the state’s building fund to fund highway projects.
Sen. Pody said he plans to revive a measure to bolster the Tennessee Department of Transportation’s (TDOT) funding after a similar bill failed last session.
The plan would dedicate sales taxes revenue on vehicles and tires to TDOT for road work and earmark a share of the sales tax revenue for administrative cost.
"I really believe we need to have another dedicated source to be giving solid money to our department. We need to get it up to another billion dollars. We should double our state budget to TDOT," said Sen. Pody.
Tennessee will never catch up on infrastructure needs, according to Sen. Pody. He said the state is decades behind on road projects, calling the governor’s $3.3 billion plan “not sufficient.”
The 10-year, $15 billion transportation plan plans to put money toward four toll lane projects which would be separate from general lanes and give motorists an alternative to pay a fee.
Tennessee is targeting 93 projects over the next decade with the one-time infusion of $3.3 billion and $1.2 billion annually.
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Source: Time Free Press, Yahoo
