Task Force Looks For Ideas To Generate Road Money

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Lawmakers have launched their latest effort to try to chip away at a $12 billion backlog of road and bridge repair and improvement work across Louisiana.

An eight-member task force created by the Legislature met Wednesday, seeking ideas for drumming up new transportation funding. It heard about the current state transportation budget, along with details of financing mechanisms used by other states.

Louisiana, like many states, is struggling with a stagnant gasoline tax that hasn't kept pace with construction inflation and a disinterest in raising new taxes to fill the gaps in roadwork.

Lawmakers charged the Transportation Funding Task Force with looking for enterprising ways to tackle the backlog problem. The panel includes lawmakers, Louisiana's transportation secretary and construction and engineering industry representatives.

Task force recommendations are due Jan. 15.