Take Me Home, Country Roads,” musician John Denver’s hit from 1971 became the anthem for the United States Men’s National (Soccer) Team (USMNT) during this summer’s World Cup. While the many soccer fans who traveled to the U.S. to watch the games might only know of a country road from this song, Nebraskans are very familiar with them.
Did you know that the State of Nebraska maintains over 10,000 miles of state and federal highways? A recent, award winning report from the Legislative Research Office details the history of Nebraska highways and future challenges facing our roadways.
Locally, Nebraska’s 93 counties maintain approximately 75,000 miles of road. I was unable to find the figure for Butler County but here’s the information I found for the rest of District 24:
- York County: 1,048 miles of county road;
- Seward County: 931 miles of gravel roads, 25 miles of paved roads, plus 191 county bridges;
- Polk County: ~700 miles of county roads.
Adding in roads maintained by villages and cities, Nebraska’s total road mileage tops 95,000. On a per capita basis, this means there are approximately 48 miles of road for every 1,000 Nebraskans. Paying to maintain all these roads with a relatively small tax base is a challenge. For comparison, California has more than 4 times the roadway mileage of Nebraska but a population nearly 20 times larger, resulting in only 10 miles of road per 1,000 Californians. At a minimum, overlaying a gravel road with asphalt costs $1 million a mile, omitting any grading or drainage improvements. You don’t even have to do the math here to understand the challenge.
Generally, state and federal dollars pay for state and federal highways. A mix of property taxes, money allocated from the State Highway Allocation Fund, and an occasional federal grant sustain county roads. This is a very high-level explanation. The reality is that paying for our roads is much more complex, as shown by the Nebraska Department of Transportation’s flowchart.
The federal tax on gasoline has comprised the lion’s share of federal transportation funding. This tax is generating decreased revenue each and every year. This is due to the growing prevalence of electric and hybrid vehicles that pay no or little gasoline tax. Additionally, gas-powered vehicles are increasingly more fuel-efficient. Congress and state legislatures are trying to figure out a path forward to make up for the lost gas tax revenue, which supports federal, state and local roads.
As always, if I can be of assistance to you in any way, please do not hesitate to contact my office. My staff members – Matt and Katie – are available to assist you with your needs and they pass along messages, so if you’d like a call back, please let them know!
Email: jhughes@leg.ne.gov
Phone: 402-471-2756
Facebook: Senator Jana Hughes
