FEDERAL HIGHWAY TRUST FUND MERITS MOTORING PUBLIC'S TRUST

When it comes to the federal highway trust fund, most highway users have a high expectation of -- what else? -- trust. The fund derives its revenue from fuel taxes paid by motorists. Currently, Missouri receives some 87 cents back on each dollar of federal fuel tax paid by its motorists.

Now President Clinton's new highway program, called the National Economic Crossroads Efficiency act, proposed to broaden the use of the trust fund in ways that should cause a great deal of concern among motorists.

For starters, the president thinks it would be OK to dip into the fund to help balance the federal budget. The motoring public, when it purchases fuel and pays the federal tax, has some expectation that the money will be used to pay for highways. This is the trust factor. While most motorists, no doubt, want a balanced federal budget as well, using the highway fund to jiggle the debt figures isn't right.

Then there is the matter of using the fuel-tax revenue for costly transportation projects other than highways. Clinton's plan mentions Amtrak and the subway system in the nation's capital, for example. While both of those may need federal help, the funds should come from users of those transportation systems, not from funds that have always been designated for highways.

One other idea, contained in the president's transportation plan that would generate additional dollars, is to allow states to put up toll gates on existing interstate highways. This plan has produced a generally negative reaction around the country, because those interstates already have been paid for by tax dollars. To use paid-for interstates to produce more dollars for other projects just doesn't make sense. Tolls on new roads or bridges have long been accepted as logical payment plans, but to put toll collectors on highways or bridges that are already paid for is neither popular nor prudent.

There is no question that the nation's highway system is becoming more costly each year to maintain, upgrade and expand. The interstate highways, which date from 1956, are aging in may areas. Traffic patterns have changed, bridges are wearing out and the roadways themselves are in dire need of attention along long stretches.

More than that, there continue to be major highway needs -- the new Mississippi River bridge at Cape Girardeau and other highway improvements in Southeast Missouri, for example. Appropriate attention must be given to these without encumbering the highway trust fund for other non-highway projects.