Why is NDOT expecting a shortfall if we already have the fifth highest gas tax in the nation?
Two main reasons: 1) costs are increasing dramatically (the cost of pavement rehabilitation alone has increased by as much as 47% from 2003 to 2005) while the funding mechanisms remain stagnant; and 2) revenues have not matched the increased use of the highway system. The bulk of NDOT’s money comes from fuel taxes and registration fees, which were last increased in 1992. Since then, general inflation has risen 41.7% and construction costs have increased even more. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that highway and street construction costs have increased 32.1% since December 2002. Road-building components have soared in the same time frame: • Diesel fuel, up 163.8%; • Steel mill products, up 75.6%; • Asphalt, up 41.3%; • Fabricated structural metal, up 28.2%; and • Ready-mixed concrete, up 22.4%. Similarly, right-of-way prices for road expansion projects, like the housing market in Southern Nevada, have skyrocketed. Estimates are that statewide, real property is appreciating
