CAMBRIDGE — Town meeting week is always a good time to reflect as we take a break before we head into the second half of the legislative session.
What did I learn from the first couple months of the session and what now do I need to think about for the next two-and-a-half months?
As the new chair of the Senate Transportation, I’ve been working to help the committee and my colleagues in the Legislature understand the fiscal reality of Vermont’s Transportation situation.
In the Senate Transportation Committee we have been digging into the finances of the Transportation Fund and of road construction. We all know the shift to electric cars is affecting our revenues because of the lack of fuel taxes. But most of us don’t think about the fact that the efficiency of our gas and diesel cars and trucks is reducing revenues too for the upkeep of our roads.
I saw this in a publication from Texas about their transportation problems recently “the primary source of the loss of revenue is a 25 percent rise in the overall vehicle fleet fuel economy.” The fact that fuel efficiency was the biggest reason for a lack of revenues for the upkeep of our highways isn’t a total surprise but it certainly is worth taking note of.
In addition, we’re all traveling more miles on our roads across the country. “Travel on U.S. roads in 2024 rose 1% to 3.28 trillion miles setting a new yearly record and topping pre-COVID-19 levels for the first time” according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
In Vermont, more than $12 million in General Fund one-time surplus moneys are being transferred to the T-Fund. Even with that and the T-Fund relieved of over $20 million worth of expense for Public Safety (State Police) now to be paid for by the General Fund, we’re having trouble keeping up in the up coming FY 26 Budget.
In next year’s budget (FY 26), as presented to us, we’re looking at sending less money to towns for their roads and we’re looking at paving about a 100 miles less on the state system than we are this year (FY 25). Projections are that next January, as we begin to look at putting the FY 27 budget together, we will be more than $30 million short in State Transportation Funds. We match Federal dollars for road construction. The state-federal match for Interstate Highways is 90% Federal and 10% State and on regular state highways like for example Route 15 the match for construction is 80% federal and 20% state.
The average combined match of the state is about 17% balancing interstates and the rest of the system. A $30 million state funds’ shortfall would translate into Vermont being short on match for federal dollars we’re eligible to draw down. I’ve seen estimates that we could leave as much as $180 million in federal dollars on the table in Washington if we had a match shortfall of that much. To put that in perspective Vermont has never not drawn down our full allotment of federal dollars.
We’ve been paving at a rate of around $103 million dollars a year. If we continue at that flat rate we are going to see a significant deterioration of our highway system.
The report for Vermont Agency of Transportation tells a worrisome story: It suggests that by 2029, if we stay on the same track we’re on, we’ll go from 26% of our roads in 2025 in poor or very poor condition to 60% in poor or very poor condition.
When I took over as chair of the Senate Transportation Committee in January of this year I knew Transportation was in difficulty but I have to admit it’s going to be more challenging than I even would have expected.
Senator Richard Westman represents Lamoille-4, a district that includes Wolcott.
