The Challenge

Idaho’s transportation funding is at a critical level

We are rapidly approaching a time when the department will no longer be able to fund basic transportation needs. The Idaho Transportation Board has determined that Idaho needs a minimum of $240 million in additional funding each year to address the state’s increasing transportation funding backlog.

Without an increase in transportation funding in the next three years, the Idaho Transportation Department will no longer be able to:

	Improve safety—the department’s highest priority
	Fund pothole patching and snowplowing
	Provide matching funds to obtain the federal dollars used for most of Idaho’s highway projects

Roads and bridges are aging

	One out of every five miles of state highway pavement is deficient
	Bridges are designed with an approximate 50-year life span. About 50 percent of Idaho’s bridges will be 50 years or older within the next 10 years.
	These bridges will require increased funding for maintenance, rehabilitation, reconstruction, and replacement.

Construction costs are soaring

The National Construction Cost Index (CCI) has increased over 69 percent between 1997 and 2006. The cost of construction materials such as asphalt, concrete, and steel continue to rise sharply.