Republicans Take Credit For Road Funding Boost

Transportation funding increases championed by legislative Republicans are changing the physical landscape of Oklahoma roads, officials with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation told lawmakers today.

Oklahoma Department of Transportation Director Gary Ridley met with members of the House Transportation Subcommittee on Thursday to discuss the condition of Oklahoma's roads. Ridley noted that funding for the state road system had flatlined for 20 years and did not see an increase until 2005 when Republicans gained control of the Oklahoma House of Representatives.

"ODOT officials say the funding increases sought by Republicans is already having an impact, although it will take years to fully repair the decades of neglect," said Rep. Mike Thompson, Oklahoma City Republican who chairs the committee.

Prior to 2005, road funding in Oklahoma was just $200 million per year, essentially unchanged from 20 years prior. When inflation was taken into account, road-maintenance funding had actually declined by 45 percent over those two decades.

Making a bad situation worse, previous Legislatures had approved new road construction funded through bond debt, and repayment of that debt was coming straight out of maintenance funds for roads, essentially reducing road funding by another one-third.

The new Republican majority made road funding a priority in 2005 and has steadily increased the road budget every year since they gained control of the Oklahoma House of Representatives.

In 2006, the Legislature voted to provide annual increases of up to $50 million per year for Oklahoma roads and bridges until $200 million in additional new funding was achieved. That same year lawmakers also provided a special, one-time $125 million appropriation for critical bridge repair across Oklahoma.

The funding plan approved in 2006 will eventually invest $6 billion to fix Oklahoma's crumbling roads and bridges over the next decade.