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We Mean Business. Illinois Business. |
User fees not enough to keep pace with state's highway system By KERRY L. SMITH | ||||||
Because Illinois' vast highway system is funded largely by revenue sources that don't keep pace with inflation,
transportation experts say it's a continual battle to fund not even expansion activity but merely necessary maintenance of
the state's existing roads and bridges.
| Although the Illinois Department of Transportation has a budget of $1.975 billion to cover maintenance of roads and bridges this fiscal year, transportation experts say maintenance-related needs alone top $3 billion. Highway user fee revenues - from motor fuel taxes, drivers' license fees and more - aren't increasing nearly as fast as inflation and construction costs | |||||
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Planners watch as Oregon experiments with mileage taxation | ||||||
With gas prices skyrocketing and manufacturers scurrying to produce hybrid vehicles and experiment with alternative fuel
automobiles, transportation planners are worrying about the long-term viability of the motor fuel tax. Rather than sit and
fret about declining revenues and rising costs, the Oregon Department of Transportation has decided to try to do something
about it.
| A select number of Portland, Ore. motorists are participating in an Oregon Department of Transportation pilot program to tax mileage driven rather than gasoline used. | |||||
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