Essay
Minnesota has the 5th largest state highway system in the country. The Department of Transportation built these roads. However, for Minnesota’s Department of Transportation to fix and keep these roads up, they need funding. I am proposing a bill to raise money to repair in-town roads and bridges via bonds.
First of all, why do we need to repair our roads? According to Minnesotago.com, “In Minnesota it is estimated that poor road quality costs the average driver $282 per year in extra operations and maintenance costs.” (Minnesota’s Aging Infrastructure.) With Minnesota’s population of roughly 5.8 million people, that comes out to around $1,635,600,000. That money could be going elsewhere, such as food or housing.
Our roads are due for renovations. Roughly 50% of the state's roads are over 50 years old, as are 35% of the state’s bridges (Transportation Budget Narratives). If our bridges are over 50 years old, that could result in structural failures. The I-35 Mississippi River bridge fell after 39 years of service. If over half of our bridges are around a decade older, that just increases the chance of failure. Unfortunately, to fix them, we need funding.
Bonds are a quick and easy way to raise money. They have been used since the Revolutionary War to raise fast money to help our economy and our government programs, such as transportation. The U.S. Saving Bonds, the type of bonds that I would recommend, are paid back in full, plus interest after twenty to thirty years (Savings Bonds: About).
Unfortunately, MnDOT only owns around ten percent of all Minnesotan roads by lane-mile (Minnesota’s Aging Infrastructure.) This means that the other ninety percent of them will not be renovated. Instead, it would be the responsibility of county, townships, and city governments to figure out how to renovate the rest.
Minnesota’s many roads need to be repaired, being as they are five decades old. We can do this via bonds. This will save us, as citizens, around $282 each, per year, to be used towards food and other necessities. Unfortunately, while we can not fix the problem entirely, we can help the process.
ShieldSquare Captcha. (n.d.). Mn.gov. https://mn.gov/mmb-stat/documents/budget/2022-23-biennial-budget-books/governors-recommendations-january/transportation.pdf
Savings Bonds: About — TreasuryDirect. (n.d.). Www.treasurydirect.gov. https://www.treasurydirect.gov/savings-bonds/
Minnesota’s Aging Infrastructure. (n.d.). Retrieved October 28, 2024, from https://www.minnesotago.org/application/files/1714/5209/8834/AgingInfrastructure_Public_Final.pdf