April 24, 2011
James Coburn
The Edmond Sun
EDMOND — Congressman James Lankford’s office has been busy this week drafting a bill to give states more flexibility in using federal transportation funds. Lankford was questioned this week at the Edmond Area Chamber of Commerce quarterly luncheon about Oklahoma’s deficient transportation infrastructure.
USA Today reported last week that Oklahoma ranks second in the number of bridges and roads in disrepair. Lankford’s bill is being authored in the Senate by U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Muskogee.
“I do not like the fact that there is a federal set of mandates that states a certain amount of this highway money that we pay 18.4 cents in tax on every gallon of gas we use — a certain percentage of that has to go to sidewalks or to a bike trail …,” Lankford said.
A member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Lankford proposes to lift some of the restrictions states face when replacing bridges.
Replacing an 85-year-old bridge with a new bridge currently requires about 18 months of impact studies concerning the impact of a new bridge at that spot, said Lankford, R-Edmond... FULL ARTICLE
Posted on
Sun, April 24, 2011
by John Cox