Interim roads bill to fund state works

Paul Kane

Monday, Nov. 17, 1997 | 12:47 p.m.

WASHINGTON -- With House approval of a six-month transportation bill, Nevada will receive enough money for ongoing roads projects while Congress continues to fight over a long-term highway spending bill.

Nevada lawmakers hailed the new highway funds, particularly for including enough money for a vital expansion of Highway 160 between Pahrump and Las Vegas.

The House passed a six-month highway funding bill late Wednesday, two days after the Senate passed the same bill. The House and Senate have not been able to come to terms on a six-year spending bill for roads, bridges and mass transit, and decided to put off any final decisions for another six months. The short-term bill passed this week is meant to ensure that current projects can continue in the interim.

The funding extension will allot more than $55 million to Nevada for highway projects through May 1. It uses the same funding formula from the 1992-97 highway bill, which expired Oct. 1.

"The interim bill represents a responsible compromise between the House and Senate," U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater said.

"We passed a six-month extension of the current bill to guarantee state highway planners weren't left high and dry," said Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., a member of the Senate Public Works Committee that is drafting the long-term highway bill.

But, under both House and Senate proposals for the next six-year plan, Nevada would receive a larger annual sum of money than the 1992-97 bill. By basing the next six months' funding on the old formula, the state will have to make do with the same level of funding as 1996 -- rather than the additional $24 million to $46 million a year called for in the two plans.

The six-month bill, however, did include additional money for the Public Lands Highway Program, which sends money to states such as Nevada that have a high percentage of federally-owned land. With those additional funds, Reid said, Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater has pledged to send Nevada $10 million specifically for the widening of Highway 160.

A long-term plan won't be hashed out until sometime next spring, since Congress adjourned this week until next January. Sens. Richard Bryan, D-Nev., and Reid support the Senate version of the plan, which would give Nevada about $161 million a year for highways.

Reps. John Ensign, R-Nev., and Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., are working to increase the state's allotment in the House bill, which gives Nevada about $139 million a year.