ARTBA: voters want transportation investment

The preliminary US election results showed that voters in 22 states approved ballot measures that will provide US$201 billion in funding extensions and new revenue for state and local transportation projects, according to the American Road & Transportation Builders Association’s Transportation (ARTBA).
November 11, 2016 Read time: 2 mins

The preliminary US election results showed that voters in 22 states approved ballot measures that will provide US$201 billion in funding extensions and new revenue for state and local transportation projects, according to the 5565 American Road & Transportation Builders Association’s Transportation (ARTBA).

Analysis by the ARTBA’s Transportation Investment Advocacy Center (ARTBA-TIAC) indicated that 69 per cent of the 280 transportation funding ballot measures up for vote across the nation were approved, with results still pending for seven local areas.

Voters in California approved 15 of 26 transportation ballot measures worth US$133 billion, including a one cent sales tax in Los Angeles that will provide US$120 billion over 40 years for local road, bridge and transit projects. California voters also rejected a state-wide measure that would have required any public infrastructure bond over US$2 billion to go on the ballot for voter approval.

Voters in Illinois and New Jersey passed transportation tax ‘lockbox’ measures to prohibit state lawmakers from diverting transportation user fee revenue to non-transportation uses. Maine approved a state-wide transportation bond issue for US$100 million and Rhode Island voters approved US$70 million in bonds for port investment.

In Washington state, voters approved a 25-year, US$54 billion revenue package that would support expanding Sound Transit light rail and bus routes. The package included a bond issue and adjustments in property, sales and motor vehicle taxes.

In Missouri, a state-wide initiative to increase the state’s cigarette tax to raise an estimated US$100 million annually for transportation investments failed. Voters in Georgia approved local sales tax increases that would raise nearly US$4 billion for road and transit projects in the metropolitan Atlanta area.

Related Content

  • June 12, 2014
    Poll: Americans would pay more gas taxes to fund road projects
    Two-thirds of Americans (68 per cent) believe the federal government should invest more than it does now on roads, bridges and mass transit systems, according to a new American Automobile Association (AAA) omnibus survey of 2,013 adults. Only five per cent of respondents believe the federal government should spend less on transportation. These results come as AAA urges members of Congress to increase the fuel tax, which will address significant transportation safety and congestion issues nationwide. The
    Read More
  • October 30, 2013
    HS2 ‘crucial to Britain’s future transport needs’
    Britain cannot meet its future transport needs without HS2, according to new evidence published by the government. Even with over US$80 billion of planned transport investment over the next six years the country’s railways will be overwhelmed. The strategic case for HS2 sets out in detail the need for a new railway line to provide the vitally needed extra capacity. Central to the case is new data that reveals the true extent of the crisis facing the UK rail network and the impact alternatives to buildin
    Read More
  • August 23, 2017
    Northwest Transit Systems Partners JV to oversee Sound Transit light rail expansion
    Northwest Transit Systems Partners (NTSP), a joint venture consisting of US transportation design and construction management firm STV, and Mott MacDonald, is to oversee the systems construction of two new light rail extensions for Sound Transit’s light rail system in Seattle, US. The NTSP team will perform systems construction management services for the US$3.7 billion East Link Extension, a 14-mile-long extension connecting Seattle, Mercer Island, Bellevue and Redmond; and the US$1.9 billion 4.3-mile
    Read More
  • April 28, 2017
    Moody's: tolls will have a greater role in closing US highway funding gap
    In light of stagnant federal funding and limited capacity for states to increase spending, toll roads will play an increasing role in addressing the funding gap for road and bridge infrastructure needs in the US, according to a new report from Moody's Investors Service. Based on historical trends, Moody's projects more toll roads and increased tolling in areas with existing traffic congestion and growing economies, population and per capita income. The 2017 Infrastructure Report Card by the American Society
    Read More

Highlighted Content