Highway bill advances with boost for state
A highway bill that cleared a U.S. Senate committee on Tuesday would provide a major funding boost for Oklahoma construction, while also addressing freight and workforce development issues, Sen. Jim Inhofe said Tuesday.
Oklahoma would get $4.2 billion over five years for road building and additional money through separate bridge and freight programs, according to In ho fe, a member of the Environment and Public Works
Committee.
The state will get about $800 million in the first year of the bill, starting in 2020, if it survives as approved on Tuesday. Several steps remain before the bill goes to the full Senate.
In ho fe, R-Tulsa, said Oklahoma will get about $100 million more per year under the new legislation, compared to the 2015 highway bill.
Tim Gatz, Oklahoma's secretary of transportation, said, “The historic transportation infrastructure investment level included in the Senate version of the highway reauthorization is absolutely warranted and desperately needed if we expect to provide the safe, efficient and effective transportation system that our future generations deserve.”
Fred Morgan, president and CEO of the State Chamber of Oklahoma, said, “Particularly noteworthy to Oklahoma's business community is that this bill cuts red tape to deliver projects cheaper and faster.
“It's also encouraging to see this bill includes $2.9 billion for the Tribal Transportation Program, which further encourages state, local and tribal infrastructure partnerships that continue to benefit our state. Bottom line: This is a great bill for Oklahoma and couldn't be more timely."
The national freight program, part of the highway bill authored by Inhofe in 2015, will send $ 137 million over five years to Oklahoma to improve freight corridors. In Oklahoma, that will include the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System. Inhofe said the new legislation also includes new incentives for young people to get into the construction trade, through pre-apprenticeships and vocational education.