Illinois Collecting Fewer Gas Tax Revenues Contributing To Crumbling Roads
By Chuck Sudo in News on Sep 8, 2014 7:30PM
Last weekend I mapped out a 30-mile bike ride which Google Maps said was across “mostly flat” terrain. Apparently Google ignores potholes better than the city. Our crumbling streets, rural roads and expressways could get worse in future years, partly as a result of our society’s embrace of other transportation options besides the automobile.
Tribune business reporter Julie Wernau has a fascinating read on how federal gas tax revenues have decreased as Illinoisans are embracing public transit, bicycling and walking; buying more fuel-efficient cars; and taking advantage of luxuries like delivery services instead of driving. According to data from the Census Bureau and Federal Highway Administration, vehicle miles driven per capita in Illinois decreased 6.5 percent from its 2004 high water mark. Wernau notes the recession also played a factor, but the wider range of transportation options have people, especially younger Illinoisans, opting to not drive.
Bike commuting, for example, grew 61 percent from 2000 through 2012. In Illinois, the rate of commuting by bike more than doubled in that span. But don’t solely blame a heightened awareness of the environment around us. The federal gas tax rate has remained unchanged since the Clinton administration and fewer people are driving Hummers these days.
Adjusted for 2014 dollars, Illinois collected $1.59 billion in gas tax receipts in 2007. Last year, that number fell 24 percent to $1.21 billion. Gas tax revenue is the main source of funding for repairing roads and bridges. Furthermore, federally mandated regulations to increase the fuel efficiency of automobiles from 29.7 miles per gallon to 49.5 miles per gallon by 2025, as well as growing numbers of consumers buying electric and hybrid cars, mean revenues could drop even further.
This doesn’t bode well for Illinois’ infrastructure, which was rated a C-minus in the American Society of Civil Engineers’ 2014 Infrastructure Report Card. (Roads earned a D+ grade.) The National Bridge Inventory released a report last year that had nearly 200 bridges in Illinois needing overhauls. Cook County has 162 structurally deficient bridges.