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P.O. Box 7129
Boise, ID 83707
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Sen. Crapo to join transportation funding summit

Idaho Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter and U.S. Senator Mike Crapo invite the public to attend the seventh in a series of conferences to discuss state and national transportation funding challenges on Tuesday, Aug. 26, in Boise, at the Centre on the Grove.

From 9 a.m. to noon, experts will discuss Idaho’s and the nation’s transportation needs and what was heard during recent funding conferences held across the state. From 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., the public will be invited to comment after a brief presentation.

Governor Otter completed a six-stop statewide transportation funding conference Aug. 5 in Twin Falls. The all-day conferences and evening public meetings provided opportunities for dialogue on state and local needs and ways to fund them. Conference sessions were held in Caldwell, Coeur d’Alene, Lewiston, Idaho Falls, Pocatello and Twin Falls.

“Idaho has reached a critical point in the funding of both its state and local transportation systems,” Governor Otter said. “Growth, increasing demand, soaring construction costs and shrinking revenue projections require a solution. Greater efficiency is necessary, and must continue. But we can’t save our way out of a decades-long backlog. I appreciate that Idahoans are looking at the problem and understanding that our highways and bridges are in trouble.”

Crapo will take advantage of the August congressional state work period to learn firsthand of Idaho’s needs and discuss federal highway funding shortfalls. The six-year federal transportation bill – Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) will expire in September 2009. Congress is engaged in preliminary work to craft a successor.

Topics for the 9 a.m. to noon session include presentations on:

  • Transportation at the crossroads: Funding our nation's roads;
  • Soaring construction costs: Putting the brakes on road repairs;
  • Moving Idaho's economy: The critical role of transportation;
  • The rough ride home: A look at Idaho's roads and bridges;
  • Authorize or unauthorize? Streamlining highway construction;
  • Funding our future transportation needs: A new vision;
  • Clearing the air: Idaho’s transportation challenges; and
  • Looking down the road: Funding transportation for the future.
The agenda and speakers will be finalized next week.

Published 8-15-8