Fuel tax hike would hasten Oklahoma transportation improvements

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Oklahoma's transportation director says the state's roads and bridges could be repaired in ten years if voters approve a tax increase on gasoline and diesel.<br/><br/>Director

Wednesday, July 6th 2005, 4:53 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Oklahoma's transportation director says the state's roads and bridges could be repaired in ten years if voters approve a tax increase on gasoline and diesel.

Director Gary Ridley told the Transportation Commission Wednesday that a ten-year transportation plan depends on both appropriations from the Legislature and additional money from fuel taxes.

Voters will decide on September 13th whether to increase the gas tax by five cents and the diesel tax by eight cents with the money dedicated to road and bridge repair. The Legislature this year approved a plan to eventually provide $170-million for road and bridge maintenance.

Ridley says about three-thousand of the state's more than 12,000 miles of highway needs to be repaired or replaced. And he says about 1,100 of the state's more than 6,700 bridges are structurally deficient and another 534 are functionally obsolete.