Brownback deserted transportation goals

Mike Hayden’s promise to rebuild the state’s highways helped propel him to victory in the 1988 governor’s race.

Kansas roads were in sorry shape. For several years, the Legislature had to pass emergency appropriations for pothole repairs on state roads. And communities all over Kansas were still waiting for the four-lane construction that had been promised in legislation passed in the late 1960s but delayed by years of hyper-inflation and high interest rates.

Hayden made good on his campaign pledge and oversaw the passage of the Kansas Comprehensive Highway Program. The CHP started Kansas down the path to national recognition for having one of the best roadway systems in the nation.

The program passed in the late 1980s wasn’t about building new roads; it was about improving and maintaining what we had while making a few key investments. It recognized that a good roadway system isn’t just about construction but also about regular maintenance, pavement markings and snow removal.

In 1999, the Comprehensive Transportation Program was passed. It broadened investment priorities to aviation, rail and public transit.

The CHP and CTP weren’t perfect programs, but they made the Kansas highway system one of the best in the nation. Proof of that can be found in Kansas’ consistently high rankings in the Reason Foundation’s Annual Highway Report, which ranks state systems based on both quality and cost effectiveness.

When Sam Brownback was elected governor in 2010, he walked into an enviable transportation situation. Gov. Mark Parkinson had just signed into law the Transportation Works for Kansas Program. TWORKS built on the successes of the past two programs while adding a new emphasis on economic analysis and community consultation.

Though transportation wasn’t a main campaign theme for Brownback, his outreach to transportation advocates across the state was taken as a signal that he was proud of the Kansas roadway system and could be trusted to maintain the investments made by previous leaders.

But eliminating income taxes is a much higher priority for Brownback and sympathetic lawmakers. As a result, today’s transportation headlines aren’t about progress; they’re about highway fund sweeps and lost opportunity.

Making matters worse, Brownback and his legislative allies have borrowed more money than planned – meaning what little is left for maintenance and construction must now be used to pay off debt.

For 25 years, Kansas had bipartisan support for transportation from five governors from both parties. Brownback has abandoned that commitment. And soon we’ll all be paying the price for it with rougher roads, higher debt and lost economic opportunity.

This story was originally published October 15, 2016 at 5:05 AM with the headline "Brownback deserted transportation goals."