In the end, there were only four votes against Gov. Dirk Kempthorne’s proposal to fund $1.6 billion in highway construction through GARVEE bonds, which bond against future federal highway allocations. The measure cleared the Senate on a 30-4 vote, after a bid to amend the bill failed 9-24.

Sen. Dick Compton, R-Coeur d’Alene, talked about all the people who have died on dangerous U.S. Highway 95 – 29 just last year. “They would say, my God, let’s fix a piece of road that we’ve been talking about for years, and stop killing people,” Compton said. He called the plan “one of the boldest and most creative that I’ve seen in the three years I’ve been in this body.”

The bill, SB 1183, now moves to the House.

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