11/19/07-Construction crews in New Hampshire could have $1.5 billion less to build and maintain roads in the state during the next 10 years.
The Executive Council will vote later this month whether to accept a revised package that calls for $2.5 billion during the next decade to pay for transportation work. The five-member panel would need to send the package to Gov. John Lynch to look over before submitting it to the Legislature.
Charles O’Leary, the state’s acting transportation director, said the changes are needed because the state doesn’t have enough money rolling in to fulfill all the promises made for the 10-year plan.
O’Leary cited a drop in federal highway funds of 30 percent during the next couple years, The Associated Press reported. To make matters worse, construction costs have increased by 45 percent during the past three years and federal money has been diverted to projects on turnpikes, which should rely on tolls for funding.
Notable projects removed from the revised plan include the Circumferential Highway around Nashua, a Troy bypass and related work, and much of the proposed Conway Bypass.
Work that still is part of the plan includes $535 million for widening Interstate 93 from Salem to Manchester and $200 million in work on the Spaulding Turnpike in the Rochester area.
O’Leary said more cuts need to be made from the plan. He wants another $500 million removed, The AP reported.
The original plan had a price tag of $4 billion. It was expected to take 35 years to complete.

11/14/07-Some state lawmakers in New Hampshire are hopeful of seeing a private operated toll bridge erected in the state to help ease traffic congestion in the southern part of the state.
Rep. David Campbell, D-Nashua, is the lead sponsor of an effort touted by several House and Senate members that would allow a private group to contract to build a bridge across the Merrimack River in Nashua. The cost of the bridge has been estimated between $75 million and $100 million, the Union Leader reported.
Currently, the state has two bridges over the Merrimack River between Nashua and Manchester. A third bridge now under construction will connect the F.E. Everett Turnpike to the Manchester-Boston Regional Airport.
The private bridge would connect to Hudson at the north end of the once-planned Circumferential Highway around Nashua. The state would take ownership of the bridge after about 60 years, the Union Leader reported.

9/11/07-Gov. John Lynch wants the state to spend its transportation revenues more wisely to eliminate the need to increase the fuel tax rate.
The state’s highway fund is drawn from the per-gallon tax on diesel and gas, as well as motor vehicle fees. Lynch has long opposed boosting the 18-cent-per-gallon tax rate.
The governor said with a drop in federal highway funds of 30 percent during the next couple years the state must reconsider what agencies use the highway fund. Decisions also need to be made whether the 65 percent of the funds traditionally remaining for the state Department of Transportation is enough to accomplish projects, Lynch told Foster’s Daily Democrat.
About $80 million annually is rerouted from the highway fund to other departments. The bulk of that money goes to cover costs of highway patrols by state police.
Lynch said some departments view the highway fund as an “ATM machine” when they are short on money.
“We have to stop that,” Lynch said.

7/24/07-New Hampshire doesn’t have enough money rolling in to fulfill promises of the state’s 10-year highway plan, according to the state’s top transportation official.
State Transportation Commissioner Charles O’Leary told the governor’s advisory committee on transportation that projects need to be postponed or outright eliminated from the state’s long-term list of needed road work. He recommended cutting one-quarter of the projects from the $4.1 billion plan.
Among the projects O’Leary tabbed for possible removal are widening a section of Interstate 93 between Manchester and Londonderry, expanding the Everett Turnpike in Merrimack and expanding the Spaulding Turnpike in Rochester.
O’Leary cited a drop in federal highway funds of 30 percent during the next couple years, The AP reported. To make matters worse, construction costs have increased by 45 percent during the past three years and federal money has been diverted to projects on turnpikes, which should rely on tolls for funding.
Possible solutions offered by councilors to save some projects included boosting the rate of tax collected on fuel and turnpike tolls.
O’Leary also said it would take 35 years to complete all the work included in the state’s 10-year plan. He recommended extending it into a 22-year plan.
The committee is expected to hold meetings this fall on the plan. By the end of the year, councilors will submit their recommendations to Gov. John Lynch, who will offer a plan to the Legislature when they convene their regular session in January.
One option that isn’t expected to be included in the plan to help pay for needed work is a fuel tax increase. Lynch is opposed to that idea. He said it is too early to discuss tolls, The AP reported.