Gov. Linda Lingle and state transportation officials yesterday unveiled a $4.2 billion dollar, six-year Highway Modernization Plan that calls for a nearly 60 percent increase in gas taxes and significant fee increases to help pay for the proposed improvements on
Gov. Linda Lingle and state transportation officials yesterday unveiled a $4.2 billion dollar, six-year Highway Modernization Plan that calls for a nearly 60 percent increase in gas taxes and significant fee increases to help pay for the proposed improvements on four islands.
The plan would implement critical highway projects and programs aimed at reducing traffic congestion, improving highway safety, maintaining roads, and saving motorists time and money, state officials said in an interview yesterday afternoon.
The plan includes 22 Kaua‘i-specific projects estimated to cost $263.41 million. They include bridge replacements on Kuhio Highway, slope stabilizations near Hanalei Bridge, Eastside shoreline protection, several highway widenings in two congested corridors and preventative maintenance work.
The Republican governor’s plan would hike taxes by about $170 a year per resident, but the payoff would be a 30-minute decrease in average daily commutes. State officials say the associated savings in such a decrease in commute time would amount to $1,825 per person and $9,638 per commercial vehicle based on a Texas Transportation Institute Model.
Key Democratic legislators endorsed the plan and say it would help stimulate the declining economy.
Overall, the plan would focus on 183 projects. This includes 76 on O‘ahu totaling just over $1.9 billion, 36 in Maui County for $579 million and 27 on the Big Island for $525 million. In addition, there are 22 statewide projects totaling $968.12 million.
The Republican governor announced the plan together with Senate Transportation Chair Kalani English, House Transportation Chair Joe Souki and state Transportation Director Brennon Morioka.
“The public has wanted it a long time and now we have the political will to make it happen,” English said. “This will keep a lot of people working … and help to pull us out of the economic slump.”
The Hana resident said the state has a great track record and pointed at the harbors modernization plan launched last year.
“It’s about time,” Morioka said, referring to the state putting its efforts into addressing transportation problems. “We hear all the time that that’s the biggest failure of government.”
The spending would have to be approved by the Democrat-controlled Legislature and could undergo several changes before adjournment in May.
The spending breaks down into the $1.5 billion the state currently spends to maintain the status quo, an anticipated $2 billion in new revenues and an additional $500 million in federal funds over the next six years from earmarks or stimulus money, Morioka said.
The state’s proposed fee and tax increases would raise about $170 million annually, enough to pay the debt service on $2 billion in bonds for these projects, he said.
“We’ve taken an innovative approach to highways modernization,” English said. “It’s a lot of money. But by doing it differently, we know we’re going to get different results.”
The tax increases would take effect when the number of jobs in the state increases by 1 percent for two consecutive quarters.
Morioka said the state is expecting this to occur in two to three years. Short-term improvements and construction designs will be made while waiting for the cash flow to come in to make the “big gains.”
The state tax on gas at the pump would be raised by 10 cents per gallon to a total of 27 cents — a 59 percent increase. Drivers also pay 18 cents per gallon in federal fuel taxes.
Vehicle registration fees would be raised 80 percent, from $25 to $45 per year.
And the state’s vehicle weight tax that is paid annually by motorists would nearly triple, from 3/4 of a cent per pound to 2 and 3/4 cents per pound.
State fees on rentals would go up 67 percent to $5 per day.
English said the main hurdle will be to convince residents that what they will get for an extra $170 a person annually in increased taxes will translate to bigger savings in the long run. He noted the extra time residents would have at work or at home if commute times were shortened and the extra gas savings residents would have if they were not sitting in their vehicles idling in traffic.
In terms of getting more cars off the road, Morioka said the state is a big believer in bus transit and will be working to “see about getting more funds to Kaua‘i for that” as well as ramping up the Van Pool Hawai‘i program.
“This is a truly innovative proposal that will change the way the state Department of Transportation does business when it comes to funding, planning and implementing highway upgrades and maintenance,” Lingle said in a statement. “This Highway Modernization Plan will provide the type of results that all users of our roadways have been waiting for and deserve. It builds on the state’s overall efforts to upgrade Hawai‘i’s transportation infrastructure, and will complement our Airports Modernization and Harbors Modernization plans that are already underway.”
The governor said the legislation builds on her goal of reducing the number of average annual traffic deaths in Hawai‘i by 40, to 100 per year.
Hawai‘i leads the nation in the percent of fatalities involving alcohol, DOT documents show. The state is third nationwide in the percent of motorcyclist fatalities, fourth in pedestrian fatalities and seventh in bicyclist fatalities.
Besides highway upgrades, the measure calls for intersection improvements, more pedestrian walkways, reversible lanes, rideshare programs and a freeway incident cleanup patrol.
It also includes a provision to test a system that would eventually phase out fuel taxes, replacing them with taxes on miles traveled because more people are driving fuel-efficient cars.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
• Nathan Eagle, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or neagle@kauaipubco.com
