Tom Coburn says he'll support road funding

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Republican US Senate candidate Tom Coburn says he supports highway projects like Oklahoma City's Crosstown Expressway.<br/><br/>The Muskogee physician says he will support highway

Tuesday, August 24th 2004, 5:21 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Republican US Senate candidate Tom Coburn says he supports highway projects like Oklahoma City's Crosstown Expressway.

The Muskogee physician says he will support highway bills as long as money is not diverted to unrelated items. He says he will not support measures that allow a politician to dictate where the money is spent.

Coburn's Democratic opponent -- Brad Carson -- has criticized Coburn's 1998 vote against a transportation funding bill. He says Coburn turned down road money for his district when he was a member of Congress.

Carson represents the Second Congressional District that Coburn represented for three terms.

Speaking Tuesday to a group of contractors, Coburn says he wants state transportation officials to make the decisions on where road money is spent and not politicians in Washington.