Letter: DeSoto closure was a much gentler wake-up
By Rep. Larry Haws, District 15B
Published: March 26. 2008 12:30AMThe closing of the DeSoto Bridge is a second wake-up call. I say it's a very lucky second warning.
St. Cloud was saved by a state Department of Transportation inspection and our citizens will be well served by a newly adopted transportation plan that works, and here is why.
Minnesota has 12,736 bridges, and until the passing of this year's transportation bill, Minnesota had a stagnant and dangerous lack of transportation funding. The new plan invests $6.6 billion over 10 years in roads, bridges, highways and transit needs in outstate Minnesota and the Twin Cities.
During the next decade, the city of St. Cloud will receive $7,252,000, Stearns County will receive $32,629,000, Sherburne County will receive $12,883,000, and Benton County will receive $7,711,000 over and above what they would have received without this legislation.
Please also note that this legislation is a property tax relief measure.
Property taxes are the single largest source of transportation funding in our state, and we must reverse this trend. As a result of this new law, homeowner property tax burdens will be eased because cities and counties will be relieved of the burden of financing area road construction projects.
The new transportation plan is also about jobs, thousands of jobs, and had we done this last year we would have made a significant impact on today's economy. The most significant benefit of the transportation bill is safe transportation for our citizens as they travel our roads and cross our bridges.
The barriers across the DeSoto Bridge detour our travel and should clear our thoughts to the benefits of the 2008 transportation bill. I'm grateful for the gentler wake-up call.
We are all grateful (well, most of us anyway), for the leadership of Mr. Haws and those that helped override the veto so that we can take care of our transportation needs responsibly rather than delaying the funding once again or putting the tab on the state's credit card for future generations to pick up.
