Bridge Disaster Could Mean Gas-Tax Hike

WASHINGTON – The Minneapolis bridge disaster that suddenly is the symbol of the nation’s crumbling infrastructure could tip the scales in favor of billions of dollars in higher gasoline taxes for repairs coast to coast.

There are 500 bridges around the country similar to the Minneapolis span, and “these are potential deathtraps,” says Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, former chairman of the House Transportation Committee.


“We have to, as a Congress, grasp this problem. And yes, I would even suggest, fund this problem with a tax,” he says. “May the sky not fall on me.”

One-quarter of the nation’s bridges, including the one in Minneapolis, have been classified as structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. One-third of major roads are judged by federal transportation officials to be in poor or mediocre condition.

Forbes