Share
Transportation advocates launched a three-day “Duct Tape Tour” of Minnesota on Tuesday, pointing out that the state’s crumbling roads and bridges will not fix themselves and will, in fact, only cost more the longer the Legislature ignores the problem.
Speaker after speaker in the Move MN coalition warned of the consequences of the Legislature’s failure to provide new, dedicated, sustainable revenue to fix roads and bridges, expand public transportation statewide, and create safer bike and pedestrian options.
“We’re very disappointed they didn’t get it done,” says Russell Hess, of the Laborers District Council of Minnesota and North Dakota. The “Duct Tape Tour” only points out the coalition’s resolve “to bring it up at the next legislative session, and the next one, and the next one.”
“The roads out there need to be fixed now,” says Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin. But the lack of money is forcing communities to do “stupid things” to patch roads together for the short term, he says, instead of being able to make wiser investments that would make roads last longer.
During the Duct Tape Tour, Move MN will highlight 50 transportation projects that will not happen without new revenue. The tour was headed to Rochester, Owatonna, and Mankato on Tuesday; to Willmar, St. Cloud, and Alexandria on Wednesday; and to Bemidji, Virginia, and Duluth on Thursday.
Transportation was supposed to be a top priority in both the House and Senate, says Margaret Donahoe, co-chair of Move MN. But in the end, House Republicans and Senate Democrats had vastly different plans, couldn’t agree, so did nothing.
“Now we have to try to keep things together with duct tape,” Donahoe says. “Duct tape is a great product, but it’s not going to fix our transportation system,” says Dave Van Hattum, Move MN’s other co-chair.
The Legislature’s failure means counties and cities will not have the money they need to do the repairs that need to be done, says Carver County Commission Randy Maluchnik. In fact, Donahoe says, the Legislature’s failure means more of the burden for fixing roads and bridges now will fall on local property taxes.
Without new investment in transportation, Minnesota becomes less competitive and unable to support new jobs and population growth, the county commissioners say. But 17 other states have increased their transportation investments since 2012, Maluchnik pointed out.