Transportation board presented with five year revenue-spending plan

State Transportation Director Tom Stephens on Thursday laid out a $2.5 billion spending plan for the next five years that includes completing the freeway between Reno and Highway 50 in the middle of Carson City.

He told the Transportation Board because the cost of some projects at the top of the priority list is rising, it will take $100 million in bonds and $33 million from reserves to balance the budget in 2001.

The bulk of that bond money, $80.5 million, will be spent to complete the widening of U.S. 95 from Interstate 15 to Craig Road in Las Vegas. Gov. Kenny Guinn said the state has already committed to that construction work.

The rest of the cash, about $18 million, will pay for design and right of way to extend Interstate 580 south from the Mount Rose junction through Pleasant Valley between Reno and Carson City. Guinn said it makes no sense not to begin design on that section of road.

Stephens said the $100 million in bonds approved by the board Thursday is the first installment of $671 million in bonds NDOT is recommending over the next five years to get some badly needed projects like the Reno-Carson freeway built.

In fact, the I-580 project will get $306 million of that bond money, which Stephens said should provide Western Nevada commuters with a freeway from Reno to the capital by 2005.

The remaining $370 million will go to southern Nevada's U.S. 95 project.

Guinn backed the $100 million in bonds for next year saying, "we're already committed to those costs." But before supporting the total $671 million in bonds, he told Stephens he wants to see a comparison of the interest cost from selling bonds with the increased cost of the projects if they are delayed because the state doesn't bond for them.

The tentative spending plan also includes $133.3 million to extend the Carson bypass south from Highway 50 to Spooner Summit junction. But Stephens cautioned that, like all the other specific project totals on the list, this one won't be actually voted on by the Transportation Board until its September meeting.

"You're not approving a document for individual projects today," Stephens told the board, which includes the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and controller as well as appointed members. "That will come before the board in September."

The numbers he presented show there is a shortfall totaling $133 million in 2001, $100 million of which is covered by the bonds. The rest will be made up out of the highway fund's $153 million ending fund balance. That reserve will be hit for another $42.25 million in 2002 and nearly $10 million in 2004, according to the numbers. But NDOT's projections show Nevada will still finish fiscal 2005 with a balance of $102 million.

The total revenues for the five year plan consist of $1.55 billion in state revenue and $1 billion in federal revenue. After that, the plan includes the $671 million in bond money.

The only other significant contribution to the pot is $144.4 million in local and developer contributions - which includes Carson City's $19 million gas tax contribution to the bypass project.

Altogether that comes to $3.4 billion in revenue.

Fully a third of the total expenditures on the list - $916 million - are for the six "super projects" including I-580 from Reno to Carson City and the bypass. The others are in Southern Nevada. Spending for road construction, expansion and maintenance projects will total $2.4 billion for the five years.

NDOT expenses make up most of the rest with salaries, operating expenses and other such costs coming to $805 million.

The remaining expense will be a total of $179.6 million in bond payments.