State Rep. Terry Morrow joined Democrats and Republicans to override the Governor’s transportation veto on Monday, saying the enacted transportation bill represents a true bipartisan commitment to fixing our state’s broken transportation system. This plan will infuse $6.6 billion into roads and bridges over the next 10 years, create over 30 thousand jobs every year for the next five years, and should ease some of the pressure on local property owners who are currently paying for much of local transportation projects.

“No one can argue with the fact that we desperately need more money infused into our roads and bridges,” said Morrow. “In fact, MnDOT’s own figures indicate the department needs an additional $2.4 billion every year over the next 10 years just to prevent things from getting worse. This is true even after dedicating the motor vehicle sales tax to roads and bridges.”

Under the compromise, balanced law, Blue Earth County will receive an additional $17.7 million over the next 10 years for roads and bridges; Nicollet County will receive an additional $8.5 million, Sibley County will receive $5.3 million and Le Sueur County will see almost $12 million in new funding. These funds are in addition to municipal road funding. The city of St. Peter will receive almost $1.5 million in new funding for streets, for example.

“The amount of money coming into our region over the coming years is significant and essential,” said Morrow. “At last, critical projects such as Highway 14 between North Mankato and New Ulm can be started, and overdue improvements can be made to deficient bridges and roads. The Mankato MnDOT building–the last one in the state to be addressed–can be done before costs continue to skyrocket.”

County engineers from Nicollet, Sibley, Blue Earth and Le Sueur contacted Representative Morrow, urging him to support this bill. County commissioners in his district passed unanimous resolutions supporting the bill. Every major state agricultural group–including the corn growers, the soy bean growers, the pork producers, the Farm Bureau, and the Farmers’ Union– and local chambers of commerce joined the state Chamber of Commerce in endorsing the bill as a good package for businesses and the economy.

The final package raises the gas tax by 5 cents, phased in over the next year. An additional 3.5 cents will be added beginning in 2010 to pay for interest on highway and bridge borrowing. The average driver in Minnesota will pay a little over $40 a year when the full 8.5 cents is phased in five years. The bill provides tax relief by offering taxpayers in the lowest tax bracket a $25 credit to offset the increase in the gas tax.

The bill returns vehicle registration fees to levels before Governor Ventura by eliminating the cap on motor vehicle tabs on new cars. Representative Morrow noted that registration fees for any car on the road today in Minnesota will not increase. Additionally, the increased road and bridge funding will relieve pressure on local taxpayers by providing additional resources for county highways and city streets.