SPR 2013 Prime KTC: Road Fund Assessment

The principal objective of this study is to assess the sufficiency of Kentucky’s Road Fund to meet the future funding needs of Kentucky’s roadway system. This will require addressing two principal questions: (1) What will be the future funding needs of Kentucky’s roadway system? And (2) In the future, how much revenue will be available to the Road Fund? This study will examine the sufficiency of the Road Fund for the next five to seven years. This study will define “meeting the future needs of Kentucky’s roadway system” as continuing a level of investment in our roadway system that is consistent with historical spending levels. These historical spending levels will include the non-roadway system commitments that are funded from the Road Fund (such as the Department of Vehicle Regulation, the Transportation Cabinet’s administration, and other agency costs). The historical spending levels will be adjusted (as needed) to account for three factors. The first of these is inflation (with a particular focus on construction and maintenance costs). The second factor is the adequacy of historical spending levels in meeting the Transportation Cabinet’s maintenance and preservation objectives. The study will examine historical data on the condition of Kentucky’s roadway infrastructure (e.g., pavement and bridge rating data), use the data to assess the adequacy of the associated spending levels, and adjust the recommended future spending levels accordingly. The third and final factor to be considered is the six-year highway plan. The recommended future spending levels will include sufficient funding to fund those system expansion costs contained in the six year plan. Budget Justification: