Baucus remains focused

By KRISTI ALBERTSON/Daily Inter Lake

If he's reelected Tuesday, one of Sen. Max Baucus' first assignments will be drafting the 2009 highway bill.

In preparation for writing the bill, Baucus, D-Mont., is touring the state to gather public input on Montana's transportation issues. About 30 people attended a "listening session" at the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce on Friday to hear the senator outline the challenges facing the highway bill and to discuss area transportation needs, especially those relating to the U.S. 93 bypass and Going-to-the-Sun Road.

As chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and the Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee, Baucus holds significant sway over how much money the federal government allots Montana's highways. The state, which has more federal highways per capita than any other state, receives $435 million a year from the federal highway program, Baucus said.

In 2005, the last time the highway bill was redrafted, Montana received an additional $200 million in earmarks for transportation projects. Of that, $30 million was allotted to the Kalispell bypass; $50 million went to Going-to-the-Sun Road.

With the economy in its current state, however, Montana might not get the same level of funding it has received, despite a push to increase the country's infrastructure spending, Baucus said. Even getting the highway bill approved may be difficult.

"I don't know if we're going to get a highway bill next year," he said. "It may take two years."

Next year, the highway program faces a nearly $6 billion shortfall, largely because of inflation and construction costs, Baucus said.

Several suggestions are under consideration to make up the fund's deficit, he said. Bonding and increased privatization are ideas many investment bankers favor. Raising the federal gas tax is another suggestion.

The federal gas tax is now at 18.4 cents a gallon, Baucus said; the federal diesel tax is 22.4 cents a gallon. The state gas tax is about 27 cents a gallon.

Baucus asked the audience how many people would support a 5-cent federal-gas-tax increase. More people said they'd support it than not, but some were hesitant. Raymond Sorenson told the senator that the government also needs to tax vehicles that don't run on diesel or gasoline.

Montana receives $2.40 for every dollar it gives the federal highway trust fund, Baucus said.

Montana's status as a "donee state" irritates some "donor states" that give more to the fund than they receive, he said. As a result, some states are considering breaking away from the federal highway program, which could prove problematic for Montana. This state needs every other state to participate in the program, he said.

The country's economic status may influence the earmarks the state receives for highway projects, Baucus said, which would in turn affect many of Montana's highway construction projects - including Going-to-the-Sun Road and the U.S. 93 bypass.

Sun Road is rapidly becoming more expensive than anticipated, Baucus said. According to some projections, the rehabilitation project may cost $300 million to finish, he added.

The bypass isn't nearly as expensive, but it relies heavily on the money Baucus has helped secure.

It will take years to fund the bypass without federal earmarks, Al Schellinger of Schellinger Construction said. Jim Lynch, director of the Montana Department of Transportation, agreed.

"Without an earmark, it isn't going to happen," Schellinger said.

The proposed bypass is supposed to begin on U.S. 93 near Gardner RV and swing west for eight miles through two big interchanges and over eight bridges to reconnect with U.S. 93 North at West Reserve Drive. Until recently, the plans called for a four-lane road.

There has been "tremendous support" to reduce the scale of the bypass, Kalispell Planning Director Tom Jentz said. Last month, the Technical Advisory Committee, of which Jentz and several other Kalispell and Flathead County officials are members, recommended the bypass be built as a two-lane highway.

The goal is to phase-in the bypass, Jentz said. "Not a bridge to nowhere, but a phase that actually carries traffic."

Rising construction costs were one factor in the committee's recommendation. Two lanes will cost just less than $70 million, Jentz said. Four lanes would cost about $111 million.

Getting a two-lane highway project off the ground is much more feasible at the moment than a four-lane roadway, Butch Clark, owner of the Kalispell Grand Hotel said, and it still will give downtown Kalispell "the relief we need."

"The four-lane [bypass] is so far off in the future that it's not doing us any good," he said.

Although federal dollars are crucial in building the bypass, Kalispell Mayor Pam Kennedy reminded the senator that there are local funding efforts as well. The city is considering putting impact fees in place, she said, and is looking to implement a local option tourist tax next year.

Even so, Kennedy said, locals are grateful for the work Baucus has done to secure federal funding for transportation projects.

"We always will depend upon federal dollars," she said. "We want you to know how much this community appreciates what you do for us."

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com.