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Highlands Today

Highlands Safe From Trust Fund Money Woes

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By BILL ROGERS

Highlands Today

Published: September 9, 2008

SEBRING - The federal highway trust fund is running out of money, but the shortfall will not impact any road projects in Highlands County, according to the state Florida Department of Transportation.

The trust fund is used to help pay for highway and bridge projects across the country. It is expected to be about $8.3 billion short by the end of September, according to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters.

There are no projects in DOT's five-year work program involving U.S. 27 and U.S. 98 in Highlands, said Highlands County Engineer Ramon Gavarrete.

"All bets are off beyond the five years," he added.

District 1, which covers 12 counties including Highlands, has received a total of about $490 million from the trust fund in fiscal years 2007, 2008 and 2009, said Cindy Clemmons-Adente, spokeswoman for FDOT in the Bartow office.

The shortfall will mean short delays, and in some cases a temporary reduction, in payments to states for infrastructure projects the federal government has agreed to help finance.

Clemmons-Adente said Monday it is too early to say what is actually going to happen concerning the trust fund.

"It is not something bringing in undo concern," Clemmons-Adente said. "We have to process what we've heard and go forward."

However, she said that construction projects that have started will not be affected. The state has the money to keep the projects moving forward.

Examples of that are two projects on U.S. 27 in Polk County. At State Road 60 and 27 in Lake Wales, a new bridge is being built and 27 is being widened from four to six lanes. The road is also being widened to six lanes in Dundee.

As a result of a sharp decline in the number of miles Americans have driven, the fund has receives less revenue from gasoline and diesel sales - 18.4 cents per gallon and 24.4 cents per gallon, respectively

Peters said that Americans drove 9.6 billion fewer vehicle-miles traveled in May 2008 than in May 2007, according to the Federal Highway Administration data. It is the largest drop in miles traveled for any May, which typically reflects increased traffic due to Memorial Day vacations and the beginning of summer, and is the third-largest monthly drop in the 66 years such data have been recorded. Three of the largest single-month declines - each topping 9 billion miles - have occurred since December.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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