PHOENIX β Arizonaβs 18-cents-a-gallon gasoline tax would double under legislation being crafted by the head of the House Transportation Committee.
Rep. Noel Campbell, R-Prescott, said Thursday that he hopes to convince colleagues that the revenues from the current levy β about $750 million a year β are insufficient to meet the stateβs needs, both for building new roads and maintaining roads.
He said itβs simple math: the tax rate hasnβt changed since 1991. βA tax dollar in 1991 is worth 47 cents today,β he said.
Campbell conceded he likely has an uphill fight.
It would take a two-thirds vote of both the House and Senate to alter the tax. And even if he could get that, then thereβs Gov. Doug Ducey who gets the last word.
βYou know what my feelings are about taxes,β the governor told Capitol Media Services.
And Ducey, promoting the widening of 23 miles of Interstate 17 between Anthem and Sunset Point north of Phoenix, said the ability to pay for the project proves the state has all the money it needs for road construction.
Arizonaβs $130 million share of the $300 million widening price tag is coming from a surplus of state tax collections, with the balance from other sources including a federal grant and money from the Maricopa Association of Government. That enabled lawmakers to put an earmark into the state budget for this specific project, outside the normal road-funding process.
Campbell acknowledged the point. But he said it would be wrong to presume that Arizona will continue to have $1 billion surpluses forever.
βYou canβt count on a good economy over the years,β he said.
In promoting the widening project, Ducey said the main beneficiaries are going to be drivers heading out of Phoenix to the mountains for the weekend or holidays.
βOn a busy weekend, I-17 sees more than 50,000 vehicles per day,β he said.
βAnd with this new expansion, I-17 will be less congested and safer than ever before,β the governor continued. βFor families, that means more time in Sedona, in Prescott, all over Northern Arizona and Coconino County and even Yavapai County, and even less time spent in traffic or stuck in accidents.β
But adding a third travel lane all the way to Black Canyon City could have another effect.
As daily travel becomes easier and faster, people may feel more comfortable living further away from their jobs in downtown Phoenix. But Ducey dismissed the concern that the project will lead to urban sprawl.
βWeβre encouraging quality of life and safe travel and ease in commutes and traffic,β he said. Still, the governor acknowledged that people may move further from the urban core.
βOf course, with the fastest growing city, the fastest growing county in the nation, weβre going to have increased homebuilding as well,β Ducey said. The governor pointed out, though, that new mid- and high-rise construction is taking place in downtown Phoenix.
βIt provides choices for the citizens,β he said of the opportunities for people to live further out.
βItβs not encouraging one or the other,β Ducey continued. βItβs allowing people to make a decision how theyβd like to live and, at what stage of their life how to choose where they want to live.β
Aside from adding a third lane up to Black Canyon City, the project also includes a unique-for-Arizona plan for eight miles of βflexβ lanes between Black Canyon City and Sunset Point, essentially two extra lanes separate from the existing northbound or southbound lanes.
John Halikowski director of the Arizona Department of Transportation, said these can be used to handle heavy northbound traffic on Fridays and southbound traffic on Sunday evenings.
But the real benefit could be preventing the kind of multi-hour delays that occur when there is a serious or fatal accident on that winding stretch and state police cannot immediately clear the road. Traffic could then be diverted to the two extra lanes separate from where the accident occurred.
