The public was called to action by Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) Commissioner John Schroer at the Public Affairs Roundtable on Friday, Oct 30th.
Traffic is a clear issue state-wide, and a major topic in middle Tennessee. Schroer’s advice to concerned locals is to reach out to legislators regarding the road congestion.
“We’re growing, so we have to continue to invest in our communities,” Schroer said. “The locals have got to talk to their legislators because the federal government is quickly making the states more responsible for their transportation.”
Schroer mentioned that the state of Tennessee spends the least per capita on roads, but the state has the third best roads in the nation. However, with the expected population growth of 2.5 million in the next 25 years, the roads will not be able to withstand the general wear and tear or the congestion the new populace will bring.
Tennessee has been in a funding hole for transportation for nearly 26 years. The state has not funded transportation since 1989 and the federal government has not contributed since 1993.
“In 1993, it took $30,000 to pave a road,” Schroer said. “Revenue is not increasing and it now takes $100,000.”Schroer believes that “pay as you go” is the best way to keep the state’s debt as low as possible. Tennessee is currently $106 billion in debt. He would rather take care of present debts and fix the current problems the state faces, instead of passing along the debts to future generations.
Schroer said there is $6.1 billon worth of backlogged projects, including the expansion of Mack Hatcher Parkway, the widening of Columbia Avenue and of Duplex Road.
“In the next couple of weeks you’ll see the governor is going to roll out a building program that we’ve been working on for a while that was part of the backlog,” Schroer said. “And that’s just projects that we’ve already started, that we’ve spent money on and that’s how much more money we have to spend on those projects in order to finish them.”
But the commissioner knows these few projects will not solve the city’s problems, due to the continuous growth Franklin is facing. He said gas taxes would need to be increased in order to keep up with production.
Special Report: Williamson County Traffic
