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<br />RAMSEY COUNTY HIGHWAY FUNDING NEEDS <br />2005-2009 <br /> <br />INTRODUCTION.... What's the problem... <br /> <br />There is a $1 billion difference between what the State of Minnesota is <br />spending on transportation and what we should be spending on transportation. <br />Many groups, such as the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, the Association of <br />Minnesota Counties, and Senator Murphy's Transportation Committee, who have <br />been studying the issue, support this estimate. <br /> <br />In Ramsey County, the State's current transportation funding policies will <br />allow us to reconstruct the existinq county road system about every 100 <br />years (that's no expansion or new roadways). <br /> <br />The failure of the State of Minnesota to finance a stable and long-term <br />transportation funding mechanism affects not only much-needed expansion <br />projects, but it badly undercuts our ability to maintain the multi-billion dollar road <br />and transit systems that are already in place. Continued lack of meaningful action <br />by the State, to fund transportation adequately, will make an already bad <br />situation dramatically worse. <br /> <br />PROJECTS THAT ARE UNDERFUNDED.... What has to wait.... <br /> <br />In order to balance all the County's maintenance and operational needs, the <br />Ramsey County Public Works Department is already delaying indefinitely a number <br />of major improvement projects. <br /> <br />It's as if the roof on your house was leaking and in need of replacement, but you <br />didn't have the money to replace the roof, or even patch the holes-instead, you buy <br />more pails and prepare to deal with rain coming in. <br /> <br />After 2005, Ramsey County can no longer do improvement projects funded primarily <br />with County State Aid Highway revenue. New projects will need to be cobbled <br />together from a number of sources, when and if the money is available, not when <br />the project needs to be done <br /> <br />Governor and MN/DOT tell Ramsey County, "You're on your own." <br /> <br />Ramsey County recently completed a preliminary review of the 2008 - 2017 <br />Pawlenty/Molnau Transportation Investment Package to determine what funding <br />impact the new package has on Ramsey County. Results of that review show an <br />estimated $750,000 - $900,000 of additional transportation funds allocated to <br />the County per year. Though welcome, these additional funds will only allow the <br />County to complete one signal project or mill and overlay project. <br /> <br />1-20-05 <br />