NEWFANE — Commissioners of the Windham Regional Commission (WRC) quizzed the Secretary of the Agency of Transportation (AOT) on a raw, cold spring evening at Newfane's Union Hall on May 15.
The only heat in the building emanated from the coffee on the snack table and what the AOT's projector kicked out.
The visit was part of a post-legislative session tour to discuss agency priorities, funding challenges, and the reasons behind the increase in the state gasoline tax.
Windham County is expected to receive $35.5 million for transportation projects in fiscal year 2014, said Secretary Brian Searles.
Most of that money will go toward replacing a 50-year old bridge on I-91 in Brattleboro that spans the West River between exits 2 and 3, said Searles.
The anticipated $60 million cost to replace that bridge is the biggest project on the books, he said.
A new methodology was used in planning this bridge, including engaging the public, said Searles, and Washington D.C., is watching the process with interest.
Now two separate bridges, they will be replaced with one span through a new design-build process anticipated to have a faster timetable.
Last August, the WRC held a public meeting to gather citizen input on the proposed bridge's aesthetics and design. The public discussion formed the basis for the aesthetic criteria that the commission submitted to AOT for inclusion in the state's request for proposals.
“Right now at least it is the largest ticket item in the [AOT] budget,” said Matt Mann, WRC senior planner for transportation.
According to Mann, AOT anticipates seeking permits and mobilizing the project this fall. The new construction will take two years.
One of the largest bridges on I-91, between 18,000 to 23,000 vehicles travel the section between exit 2 and 3 daily, according to AOT figures.
Wear and tear from vehicles and salt on the metal structure have both taken their toll, said Mann.
AOT's original designs for the bridge did not highlight the beauty of the surrounding hills and West River below, said Mann. WRC negotiated with AOT for more public input into the bridge's aesthetics.
Traffic during construction will not be detoured through Brattleboro, said Mann. But, Route 30 will be closed for a total of four weeks during construction. About 7,000 cars each day will need to be detoured over Upper Dummerston Road.
Lots of needs; not much money
The total state transportation budget is $635.1 million. The bulk of the money will go towards roadway safety (28 percent), repairing state and interstate bridges (19 percent), and town programs (14 percent).
According to the AOT, Vermont's transportation system contains 2,840 miles of state roads, 11,300 miles of town roads, and about 4,000 bridges. The state also has 305 miles of state-owned rail lines and 10 state-owned airports.
“The budget is largely project driven,” Searles said, adding that money flows towards “shovel-ready” projects.
The AOT will likely need to budget for flood damage from 2011's Tropical Storm Irene for another two budget cycles, he said. In the fiscal year 2014 budget, $56 million is related to Irene recovery.
Irene wiped out roads and stream banks around the state, and forced the AOT and Agency of Natural Resources to forge a new collaboration.
“Irene was a great teacher,” said Searles.
Irene also contributed to the AOT developing its Accelerated Bridges Program. Instead of building a temporary bridge while the agency repairs the existing bridge, the agency now closes the bridge completely and detours traffic.
Closing a bridge creates an inconvenience for commuters, Searles said, but it means the bridge work is completed within a month.
Safety and maintaining aging infrastructure are ongoing challenges for the state, Searles said. Resilience in the face of climate change will also test the AOT.
The state's transportation budget faced a deficit last year. Searles said the state can expect to continue coming up short.
Transportation revenue for fiscal year 2013 came mostly from the gasoline tax (24 percent), motor vehicle licensing fees (30 percent), and the purchase and use tax (23 percent).
Searles said the state's funding challenges stemmed from state revenues not keeping pace with infrastructure costs.
AOT and the Legislature have wrangled over the deficit in the transportation budget over the last two years. In the last budget cycle, the Legislature filled the $20 million hole through fees.
This year, however, Searles told the lawmakers that the hole was too big for the state to solve all alone. So the Legislature dealt with the deficit by increasing the existing 19-cent per gallon state gas tax by an additional 5.9 cents per gallon.
Searles said that Vermont is one of a few states to find a solution to its transportation funding crunch, something that 27 other states are struggling with.
Overall, Searles praised the Legislature's work in plugging holes in the budget by raising the vehicle gas tax.
A committee projected the state's transportation needs out to 2018. The numbers showed that to keep the existing transportation system going and meet safety goals, the state would have an annual deficit of over $241 million.
“We don't have the taxing capacity to do that,” Searles said.
Not long ago, the gas tax provided nearly half of the transportation fund's revenue, and Searles said Vermont has traditionally used its tax dollars to leverage federal dollars.
Other states use different revenue streams to help fund their transportation budgets. Searles pointed to New Hampshire, which generates about $20 million each year in tolls.
The $36 million deficit in Vermont's transportation budget would have ballooned into a $100 million shortfall without the leveraged federal funds.
One of the causes of the funding hole is decreased gasoline consumption due to a combination of better fuel economy in vehicles and fewer miles driven. Searles said that came from the state's own initiatives.
“These are outcomes that we want,” said Searles.
Alternative transportation
A few years ago, Vermont averaged about 188 electric cars. Now, about 400 are on the road, he said.
Technology in the alternative fuels industry is moving fast, Searles said.
The Legislature has asked for a study into how drivers of alternative fuel vehicles should “pay for their fair share of the system in the future,” he said.
Vermont wants to promote the use of alternative fuels, but it also wants users to pay their share, Searles added.
Gasoline consumption has declined by 39.3 million gallons between 2000 and 2012. AOT expects this trend to continue. Miles traveled peaked in 2003 at 7.9 million miles. In 2011, however, miles traveled topped out at 7.1 million miles.
Searles said that a committee's study found that the basic needs funding gap for 2014 to 2018 showed the transportation funding gap will average more than $240 million annually.
By raising the gasoline tax, the state avoided about $107.1 million in transportation budget cuts, said Searles.
Commissioners questioned what advancement the AOT was making in rail service.
Rail ridership is up, said Searles, but the amount of money for rail has decreased significantly from last year with the end of the Obama administration's economic stimulus funding.
But, the amount in the budget is a better chunk than other years, said Searles. The state has $14 million to rehab passenger service on the western side of the state. Money will also go into re-establishing passenger rail service to Montreal.
When asked if the state had plans for increasing commuter rail, Searles said, “No.”
Rail is expensive, he said. He said he couldn't imagine local service happening without federal money. “It's going to take everything we've got to get that,” he said.
Congress is lowering the federal participation in Amtrak, Searles said. This has the state worried because fewer federal funds will mean Vermont will have to pick up more of the tab to maintain Amtrak's two trains to Vermont, the Ethan Allen Express and the Vermonter.
During the question-and-answer portion of the AOT's presentation, an audience member asked Searles if the state would reconsider placing Dummerston on interstate or state signage.
The secretary said he would look into it: “Signs are a sticky issue in Vermont,” he said.