Transportation finances, projects eyed

SANDPOINT — During Idaho’s 2017 fiscal year, the state, counties, highway districts and cities spent just over a billion dollars on transportation.

"That is a lot of money," said Jim Coleman, Idaho Transportation Department board member. "It’s about 2 to 3 percent of the state’s gross product."

To break that down, he said, it is about $563 million for the state, $160 million for counties, $174 million for highway districts, and $151 million for cities.

Coleman was one of several speakers at the annual Idaho Transportation Legislative Preview on Wednesday. Representatives from the Local Highway Technical Assistance Council and the state’s Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee were in attendance as well.

While about 40 people braved the elements to attend the preview following this week’s snow storm, a couple of the speakers couldn’t make it. Reps. Sage Dixon and Luke Malek were unable to attend, leaving Sen. Shawn Keough as the only member of JFAC to discuss the state budget.

At the end of November, about mid-way through Idaho’’s fiscal year, Keough said the state was $150 million ahead in surplus funds. That is far more than the $64 million officials anticipated they would be ahead when the budget was set at the end of March, she said.

State agencies have requested almost $29 million in supplementals, much of which is in Medicaid, State Hospital South, as well as the court and prison systems.

"Those are just some of the supplemental requests we will be looking at and deciding whether or not to use some of that surplus toward that," Keough said.

For fiscal year 2019, which starts July 1, 2018, state agencies have requested an 8.9 percent increase in overall spending. Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter will give address the budget during the State of the State Budget Address Jan. 8, Keough said, and anyone who is not in Boise can watch online or on Idaho Public Television.

For the transportation budget in particular, Keough said, about $15 million in surplus will go to the Idaho Transportation Department, as well as $39 million in congestion mitigation funds.

"So that is helpful for ITD," Keough said. "... In short, I would say ITD is working very hard to make every dollar go as far as possible, but we still have a significant backlog. The roads get costlier to build and maintain as the years go by … Of particular concern, to me, is the state of our bridges."

Jeff Miles and Laila Kral followed with an update from LHTAC. The Local Strategic Initiatives Program, for which the application process closed on Thursday, Miles said, will provide $10 million from the state’s surplus to eligible road and bridge projects. In addition, a portion of the funds will go toward the Child Pedestrian Safety Program for eligible projects. These projects include, but are not limited to, maintenance of paths/sidewalks along or adjacent to an existing roadway, connecting sidewalks/paths between two terminal points, ADA ramps and more, according to LHTAC’s website.

Kral said $50 million came through the Legislature last year for LHTAC’s Emergency Relief Fund, focused on permanent road and bridge repair from emergencies and disasters last winter and spring. To date, the Emergency Relief Fund panel has approved 451 projects, Kral said, and the Office of Emergency Management has paid out about $4 million in funds.

"There’s been some delays in the expending of those funds due to paperwork," Kral said. "It’s a reimbursement program, so the anticipated goal is the projects would constructed before reimbursement was requested from OEM."

Kral said that system has changed a little bit and some funding can now be provided sooner.

This summer, Kral said, Idaho received about $1.25 million for projects in North Idaho. Two weeks ago, she said, LHTAC received notice that North Idaho received another $3 million, with about $1.8 million of that going to local agencies.

Road construction and maintenance project are, of course, ongoing throughout the state. The state received funding through the Grant Anticipation Revenue Vehicle, better known as GARVEE, said Damon Allen, ITD district engineer. Between the GARVEE funds and a little bit of District 1 funding, for a total of about $74 million, a couple of projects are planned in North Idaho.

The first contract, he said, is for an interchange at Highway 53 and Highway 95 for a new bridge over the railroad and to straighten out Highway 53 to the west, as well as an overpass at Garwood. The second contract will take Highway 95 up to four lanes in the Granite Hill area, near Trails End Road, where Allen said there are several vehicle accidents each year.

"Once that is built, it will truly save lives every year, so we are super excited about that," Allen said.

Upcoming project in Bonner County include replacement of bridges in Oldtown and East Hope, and repaving from Dufort Road to Gun Club Road — just to name a few.

Mary Malone can be reached by email at mmalone@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.