Road needs: $543 million
The total figures being tossed around by the governor's task force on transportation funding are big: $262 million to operate, preserve and restore the current road system, both at the state and local level; plus $281 million needed for "capacity and safety enhancement" at both levels. That's a total of $543 million. The figure is the average the 14 task force members' responses on a survey. "I think it's the first time that the total numbers really have been presented in a way that the public can understand it," said task force member Sen. Chuck Winder, R-Meridian. "$240 million ... was a maintenance budget. I think these numbers indeed reflect a more accurate picture of what the need is. Now, whether it gets funded at that level is another question, but I think it accurately depicts the need."