AMENDMENT 2 NOT ROAD TO BETTER INFRASTRUCTURE

Amendment 2 would allow for construction of toll roads and bridges in Missouri. Flaws in the proposed amendment along with transportation funding improvements made in the last year negate the need for this measure. We believe people should vote it down.

This toll proposal was approved by the legislature in 1991. Then, shortages of state and federal highway dollars prompted another look at the toll mechanism in Missouri. Voters had soundly defeated a similar measure by a 2-to-1 margin in 1970.

But highway funding improved significantly in 1992, with the legislature's approval of a six-cent gasoline tax to be phased in over four years. This increase in state dollars brings a surge of matching federal dollars as well. Toll roads are no longer the only alternative to fund critical road projects.

The amendment is simply too vague, and may allow some groups to play politics with taxpayer dollars. The State Highway Commission or the Missouri Highway Department should have been designated as the toll road authority. They were not. These entities could have backed toll road bonds with highway tax money to achieve much lower rates.

The amendment opens the door to partisan politics by allowing the legislature to set up as many different toll road authorities as it wants, with no checks or balances. Without the full faith and credit of the state, these unknown, untested authorities would be handcuffed by much higher bond rates that would drive up the costs of these toll projects. Repayment and maintenance would be based solely on tolls collected.

No state funds could be used to construct these toll roads, under the amendment guide~lines. But gas tax dollars and vehicle registration fees would be siphoned off for feasibility studies and start-up costs for toll roads and bridges. Millions of our tax dollars could be spent for toll projects that may never materialize.

Motorists pay for toll roads again and again not just through gasoline and state taxes, but through tolls paid. Interest payments drive up the price of toll roads as do collection costs. They are simply not a cost-effective means of building infrastructure in Missouri.

The new surface transportation bill, signed by President Bush last December, makes toll roads more readily eligible for federal participation. But, no additional federal dollars have been allocated. Missouri already has a 15-year road and bridge improvement plan in place that deserves funding. That plan will place every city larger than 5,000 people on a four-lane highway, and will replace or rehabilitate almost 900 bridges. Toll roads should not drain funding from this ambitious plan.

Amendment 2 is wrong for Missouri. At its bottom line, the proposal will greatly inflate costs and could open the door to political mischief on taxpayers' expense. Missouri has consistently operated on a "pay as you go" policy for roads and bridges. That should continue. Citizens should vote "No" on Amendment 2 on Nov. 3.