KRMG Local News
By Nicole Burgin @ March 17, 2010 1:02 PM
A vote today in the U.S. Senate means no delays for Oklahoma road projects as lawmakers funded the federal highway program through the end of the year. Crystal Drwenski with 'TRUST' a road and bridge coalition says, "This is great news for us." Drwenski says the state lost millions of dollars since the federal highwayprogram expired last year and the fund operated on a series of continuing resolutions and a 30-day period. "We are a smaller state with finite means and we can't afford to loose $15million a month in our program especially when you have I-44 and you have had three bridge deck failures in the Tulsa metro area last month alone," says Drwenski.
But she adds this is just a temporary 9-month fix. "Essentially what that does is it allows us to know what funds we have coming into the state each month through the end of the year so we can continue to let projects and know the federal government will reimburse us." Drwenski would like to see a nationwide discussion, similar to the health care debate, about highway law and the direction for the future.
Posted on
Wed, March 17, 2010
by Crystal Drwenski