newk
Gillette, WY
Senior Member
Joined: 08/18/2007
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paulj wrote:... One poster praised the quality of Oregon highways, but I've seen an article about the bad conditions of unpaved streets in Portland....
Money for city streets comes from a different pot than money for interstates/US/state/rural highways.
Wyoming is facing some serious financial obstacles to keep its interstate highways in good condition. It's my understanding that federal highway funds are not what they used to be, so the bulk of maintenance is left up to the states. Small population states with lots of interstate miles, like Wyoming, the Dakotas, etc., have difficulty keeping the roads in good condition, let alone improving them for more traffic.
The Wyoming legislature has been wrestling with that problem for the past few years, giving consideration to higher fuel taxes, making I-80 a toll road, selling it to China, etc. So far they haven't come up with an idea that everyone can agree on, but something is going to have to be done soon.
I just hope they don't tax me for it. I think I did a rough calculation on what it would cost to rebuild I-80 across the state and came up with something like $10,000 for every man, woman and child in the state.
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