ITD pledges funds if stalemate continues
SANDPOINT — Idaho will pay contractors working federal highway projects and keep funding flowing to transit providers with state funds if the national government shutdown continues beyond Thursday, the Idaho Transportation Department announced Tuesday.
“We want to honor the contracts that have already been awarded and keep people working,” Idaho Transportation Board Chairman Jerry Whitehead said in a statement.
U.S. House of Representatives and Senate leaders face a Thursday deadline to raise the nation’s $16.7 trillion borrowing limit, according to The Associated Press. The Fitch credit rating agency warned on Tuesday that it is reviewing the federal government’s AAA credit rating for a possible downgrade in light of a possible default on the nation’s debt.
“If the federal government fails to reach a decision by Thursday, the alternative is to stop approximately $30 million a month in federal highway contracts and another $875,000 a month in transit services,” Whitehead said in a news release.
If the impasse persists, ITD would make the payments to contractors and transit providers using state funds. When the federal budget crisis is resolved, the department would submit those payments to the federal government for reimbursement based on current contracts.
The Idaho Transportation Board, which voted Tuesday to put up the funds if the federal stalemate endures, will review its funding decision monthly as the budget crisis unfolds.
At least one highway project and transit system in Bonner County rely upon federal funding.
However, the Trestle Creek Bridge replacement project on Highway 200 is slated for completion by Nov. 1 due to environmental regulations related to threatened bull trout. The Selkirks-Pend Oreille Transit system, meanwhile, reportedly drew up a contingency plan to keep the service rolling if federal funding dried up.
Although the widening of U.S. Highway 95 in Ponderay involves a federal highway, that $12.7 million project is funded through state transportation dollars.
Jeff Stratton, an ITD spokesman in Boise, was unresponsive to media inquiries on Tuesday.