Oklahoma to lose $59-million federal road dollars

<br>TULSA, Okla. (AP) _ Losing $59 million in federal road dollars would have a devastating effect on Oklahoma road-building projects, officials said. <br><br>The House Appropriations Committee is proposing

Friday, October 4th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

TULSA, Okla. (AP) _ Losing $59 million in federal road dollars would have a devastating effect on Oklahoma road-building projects, officials said.

The House Appropriations Committee is proposing that the state receive $358 million for fiscal year 2003. House Democrats tried to restore funds, but the effort failed by two votes in a subcommittee.

``The proposed $59 million cut will be very damaging to Oklahoma,'' Rep. Brad Carson, D-Okla., said in a story from the Tulsa World's Washington bureau. ``The condition of the roads in our state is notoriously bad.''

Terri Angier, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, said the department is preparing a report on the bill's impact for a meeting of state highway commissioners on Monday. The agency already was preparing for cuts.

The agency's staff is trying to ensure that critical projects are protected as much as possible, but the new funding figures might make that more difficult, Angier said.

Carson said it's not uncommon for him to hear constituents ask where their tax dollars are going in terms of roads and infrastructure.

``The answer is, our tax dollars are being used to fund road projects in other states,'' he said.

For every dollar Oklahoma generates in tax revenue for roads, it gets back only 89 cents, said Carson, a member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

``Across Oklahoma, there are hundreds of bridges that are in critical condition. Federal funding is necessary to help alleviate the cost burden to our state's budget,'' he said. ``We are putting people's lives in danger.''

In addition, the loss of road funds could affect the state economically. One estimate said more than 2,000 jobs could be lost.

Earlier in the year, lawmakers from both parties bragged of their efforts to restore $4.4 billion in highway funding that President Bush had left out of the budget he sent to Congress.

Until lawmakers restored the $4.4 billion, Oklahoma's losses in road revenue were expected to amount to more than $100 million.

Rep. Ernest Istook, R-Okla., a veteran member of the appropriations committee, said Oklahoma would receive more money from the gasoline tax because the state delegation worked to change the formula used to distribute the revenue.

He said the war on terrorism, homeland security needs and federal deficits are why additional money was not available for roads now.