A bad traffic jam

Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009 | 2:07 a.m.

The state’s inadequate and poorly maintained roads and highways, coupled with rush-hour traffic, cost Nevadans $1.8 billion a year in extra vehicle operating costs and lost time, according to a report released this week.

The study by TRIP, a nonprofit Washington transportation group, calculated an annual cost of $1,481 for the average Las Vegas Valley driver.

The group reported that 13 percent of the state’s roads and highways are either poor or mediocre. It also said that, as of 2007, Nevada ranked fourth in the nation in the share of congested highways and interstates. The congestion in Las Vegas makes a rush-hour trip 30 percent longer than the same trip during nonpeak times.

None of this, of course, is a surprise to anyone who drives in Las Vegas.

Senate Minority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, who has served in the Legislature for nearly 40 years, put his finger on the underlying problem: “Our highway budget has been going down while demands on the system have been steadily increasing.”

Unfortunately, Gov. Jim Gibbons has been reluctant to do much about the congestion and the problems with the state’s roads and highways. For example, during the 2007 Legislature, he blocked a bill that would have provided full funding for several needed roadway projects. Instead, he agreed to provide only one-fifth of the needed construction costs — and he called that a “win for Nevada.”

Gibbons stopped the original legislation because he said it would raise taxes. What he failed to acknowledge is that Nevadans are paying significant costs because of the inaction to build and properly maintain roads. Increasing taxes to pay for better roads would have resulted in smaller vehicle operating costs and less time wasted waiting in traffic. In other words, because of Gibbons, Nevadans pay the costs without getting any benefit. So much for that “win.”

It could get worse. TRIP notes that without more funding, Nevada’s gridlock will only grow, and it is calling on Congress to increase federal highway funding for the states. Federal funding should be increased, but Nevada should step up and do its part as well.