As anyone who has driven on Interstate 84, I-91, and especially I-95 knows, our interstate highway system is rapidly deteriorating. And that’s true not just of interstates in Connecticut, but nationwide. Potholes, crumbling pavement, and weakening bridge supports need to be repaired sooner rather than later.
Since the creation of the system in 1956, interstate highway maintenance has been funded by a tax on motor fuels paid into the Highway Trust Fund. Congress sets the amount of the tax, currently 18.4 cents per gallon. However, the tax is not indexed to inflation, and Congress has not raised it since 1993. Because fuel efficiency has increased substantially since then, and therefore gasoline consumption per mile traveled has decreased, tax revenues have fallen while the costs of highway maintenance have increased. As a result, the Congressional Budget Office predicts that the fund will soon be bankrupt.
