Editorial: Grinding to gridlock

Sunday, Feb. 18, 2007 | 7:35 a.m.

Last week a House subcommittee looking at highway funding took up an issue close to the heart of Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons - public-private partnerships.

The subcommittee heard about the most common type of partnership - the toll road - and how it could be a disaster for the nation's highway system.

Subcommittee Chairman Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., said one major problem is that private companies in these partnerships are often allowed to make decisions "based on what generates the most profit for stockholders, not what's best for the traveling public."

That should send chills down the spine of every driver in Southern Nevada.

With Las Vegas grinding toward gridlock, Gibbons has yet to say what specifically he will support. He is against fee increases and has said he thinks toll roads are a bad idea, yet he supports some sort of vague public-private partnership.

That is not the way to solve a deficit of at least $3.8 billion over the next eight years to build needed highway projects to keep up with growth.

Leadership is needed. A thoughtful blue ribbon task force's report, dismissed by Gibbons, called for a sense of urgency. The task force found that without "substantially increased funding" for highway projects, "the safety, quality of life and economy of Nevada and its residents and businesses will suffer for years to come."

Hopefully the Legislature is listening and will act in the absence of leadership by Gibbons.