Think traffic volume and congestion problems are bad now? Based on projections researched by the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments (OKI), the region’s top transportation planning agency, our geographical area could encounter total gridlock during the morning rush hours starting in 2026 if we don’t replace the Brent Spence Bridge.
Think about taking over an hour and a half to get from Florence to the Cincinnati central business district or a similar amount of time from CVG to downtown. Such a future scenario was painted by Mark Policinski, executive director of OKI at a recent Florence Rotary Club meeting.
Policinski pointed out that the bridge is not the only problem we face. We are in an era where the entire interstate system is outdated, antiquated and broken. Our transportation system can no longer effectively perform in order to keep our country economically viable in the international market place.
Because the global economy is built on the transportation of goods, OKI studied and wrote a freight plan that creates a long-range vision of freight transportation to ensure our region’s success.
The study discovered between now and 2040 total freight volume from all modes (highway, rail, barge, and air) is forecast to grow by 54 percent. Our roadways can expect a doubling of truck traffic within the next 24 years. They see air freight expanding 177 percent.
There are and will be insufficient government funds to meet all of these critical transportation system needs. Given that the federal government is $16 trillion in debt, we need a whole different way to fund transportation. OKI has laid out a five step approach for addressing this grave problem.
First, they urge all state transportation departments to consider all funding mechanisms, including public private partnerships, availability payments, design-build, tolling, license fees.
Secondly, they believe the states should be allowed to keep their federal and state gas tax receipts to spend as each sees fit, thereby eliminating bureaucracy at the federal level.
Thirdly, reduce the lengthy environmental process. The first step in increasing revenues is to reduce the time it takes to get a project built.
Fourth, investigate public private partnerships. The government is broke… the private sector has billions to invest in infrastructure.
The fifth way to raise additional revenues is to change the federal tax code to enable regional Infrastructure Improvement Zones (RIIZ), which would allow businesses to receive tax deductions for contributions to the cost of infrastructure improvements even when it provides some direct benefit to the donor. RIIZs appear to be gaining some bi-partisan support in Washington.
Policinski ending by saying that the bridge replacement is the best example of why we need to attack our transportation infrastructure problems. His real message is that we must get going. If we wait, we lose.
For information about weekly meetings, guest speakers and community service opportunities of the Florence Rotary Club, contact Brad Shipe, President, at bradshipe@hotmail.com or (859) 282-7040.
Visit the group’s web site at www.florencerotary.org . Florence Rotary meets weekly on Mondays at noon at the Airport Hilton Hotel in Florence.
