June 11, 2007
Closing thoughts Jim Reger, board chairman, Construction Industries of Massachusetts
Advocate says increasing gas tax is needed to save roads
Jim Reger is the president of P.J. Keating Co., a Lunenburg-based producer of crushed stone and hot mix asphalt that does highway contracting. He was recently named chairman of the board of the Construction Industries of Massachusetts, an association that represents all aspects of the transportation and public works construction industry in the state.
Reger recently stated that Massachusetts is facing a transportation crisis, on the heels of a recent study conducted by a statewide transportation coalition that concluded Massachusetts will face a $1 billion shortfall in the next 20 years just trying to keep the state's roadways at their current level of functionality. As part of his proposed solution, Reger has advocated raising the state gasoline tax as a means of funding critical road projects.
Why do you think there is a state transportation crisis?
Reger: There is a state transportation crisis because funding is not available at needed levels to take care of the basic maintenance of the highways and bridges in this state. Any motorist driving on any major interstate or Massachusetts primary road can see the obvious need where the roads are falling apart. There are potholes, there's sections of 495 that are almost impassable. There are definite, obvious problems. There is a report out done by the state transportation coalition, who spent two years studying the problems with the highway systems in Massachusetts, that identified the severity of the problem. For the next 20 years, we're $1 billion short of just trying to maintain the existing roadway surfaces and bridges in their current condition in this state. Which roadways in Massachusetts do you think need the most attention?
Reger: There is a major section of Route 2 from Leominster to Concord that is certainly in need of major attention. Several major sections of 495, from Littleton to Franklin, and another section in the Middleborough area. The majority of the problem is that roadways haven't been maintained in the last 15 years and we're seeing an almost total failure of the sub-base to the road itself. There are six-inch ruts in the middle of Route 32, to the failure of the top surfaces of major chunks of 495 where the road surface is pretty much gone.
There are some projects everyone would love to see undertaken for new construction. The Concord rotary backs people up everyday. But we don't even have the money to take care of the roads we have now, let alone take on new projects.
You have advocated raising the state gas tax... do you honestly see no other way to get funding for road improvements? Why build more roads that are just more expensive to drive on?
Reger: The gas tax is basically a user fee. The people that drive on these roads should pay to maintain them. The tax hasn't been increased since 1990. It's stuck at 18 cents. But the cost of maintaining and building roads has gone up dramatically. You have a fixed number of dollars trying to maintain an ever more expensive repair and maintenance budget. There are operations that a fixed number of dollars can no longer cover. The federal highway transportation fund is funded by the federal portion of the gas tax. They're indicating they'll be totally bankrupt by 2010. Well, that's where the states get a lot of the money for transportation projects.
What we're saying is we'd love to have our gas tax tied to a sliding index so as prices went up, the tax could also go up, so it's not fixed. We'd like to have an increase of 5 to 7 cents per gallon so that money will be available to keep up the work that needs to be done to the highways.
The Reger File: Age:56Town of residence:SterlingHometown:Massena, N.Y.Company:P.J. Keating Co., highway contractors and producer of crushed stone, hot mix asphalt based in LunenburgHobbies:Playing golf, skiing, working out and lifting weightsEducation:Bachelor of Arts in economics from St. Lawrence University. MBA from Southern New Hampshire University in Management.Biggest career achievement:Becoming president of P.J. Keating Co.Family:Married with a 32-year-old daughter, a 30-year-old son, and one grandchild. |
Reger: Certainly smart growth and smart development is something we all need to look at as we go forward. If you look at the patterns of development, there are more people getting pushed from Route 128 to 495 to Route 146. The further we get out of (Boston), the more economic development in Central Massachusetts could prevent people from having to go to the city in the first place. If they could find jobs that were as rewarding and challenging here, we should be able to prevent them from having to go to the city to find that.
What are the goals of the CIM for the next year? How will you help implement them?
Reger: I think first of all, our major goal is to make sure that people become aware of the transportation situation and the reports that have been done to educate the population as to severity of current problem. Going into 2008, we are going to work diligently to get increases in revenues to transportation programs. What is your commute to work like? On a scale of 1 to 10, how good is it?
Reger: My commute is 10 minutes now. I used to live in New Hampshire, and it was an hour. Now I live in Sterling and commute to Lunenburg. I take Interstate 190 to Route 2. Distance wise it's a 10, it's good. But the volume of traffic, even for that short period of time and even at 6:30 a.m., there's traffic backed up to 190 every morning. I would say in that respect it's a 1. It's a congestion nightmare there every day.
This interview was edited for content and length by Cory S. Hopkins.
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments