Bridges to somewhere.

• Author: McCorkle, Vern C.
• Position: From the Publisher

Congress first enacted a Gasoline Excise Tax in 1932. By 1956 the Highway Trust Fund was created to finance mass transit projects. Funds came from money motorists paid at gas pumps. Originally to sunset in 1972, the tax has grown from 3 cents per gallon to 18.4 cents and has slopped over from a dedicated pot of money for highways to a kind of "pork barrel" goodie bag for pet projects. Only Congress can change that, but don't hold your breath waiting to get back to the basic law. It is the law that allocates highway money to Alaska. Notably, of all the Congressional weepers and wailers bemoaning Katrina's horrific impacts, not one, at this writing, has volunteered to give a single penny of their highway money to New Orleans. Not one cent. But they are happy to shame Alaska for wanting to build a bridge to an airport to replace an often drenching (rain) ferry ride, or to...