MDOT director: State might need gas tax hike 'closer to 80 cents'

Michigan Department of Transportation Director Paul Ajegba said Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's proposed 45-cents-a-gallon gas tax hike might not be enough to fully address the problems found on local roads and bridges.

Ajegba told a Sept. 24 town hall in East Lansing the state still lacks accurate data from some local road agencies regarding the condition of their transportation structure. As a result, he said a 45-cent increase — which would generate an estimated $2.5 billion a year — might be inadequate to address those local needs.

A tax increase that addresses local roads as well as state-managed roads could be closer to 80 cents per gallon, a figure that Ajegba said is “not realistic.” The current fuel tax is 26.3 cents, last rising 7.3 cents in 2017.

“That’s the problem,” Ajegba said, according to audio of the event reviewed by The Detroit News. “We’ve dug ourselves such a huge hole that if you really want to take care of the problem, you’re almost going to be talking close to 80 cents a gallon. And that’s just not realistic.”

Read more: https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2019/10/18/transportation-director-michigan-might-need-gas-tax-closer-80-cents/4009874002/