Video: Transportation Funding 101

One of the transportation funding challenges we face today is a decline in purchasing power for transportation construction. Historically, transportation funding in the region has come from state and federal gas taxes that are returned to counties and local jurisdictions. The gas tax has not changed since the early 1990s. That funding model has gradually eroded over time because the cost of building roads and other transportation projects has gone up, while the gas tax has not kept up with inflation.

Other funding sources come into the region but usually have strings attached on to how spend the money. Pima Association of Governments’ Program Coordinator Nathan Barrett shows how local RTA tax dollars bring more money to the table and offer a flexible funding solution.