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State transportation budget outlook shows multi‑billion shortfall after updated fuel forecasts and rising project costs
Summary
A committee briefing from staff shows the transportation financial plan faces two‑ and six‑year deficits driven by lower fuel tax forecasts, higher construction costs and a federal court-ordered culvert replacement program, pushing potential six‑year shortfalls into the billions.
State transportation staff told a legislative committee on March 1 that the 2025–27 transportation financial plan faces a substantial shortfall driven by updated fuel revenue forecasts, rising project costs and a federal court injunction requiring culvert corrections.
Mark Madison, staff to the committee, told members the updated motor fuel tax revenue forecast now projects negative fuel‑tax growth and reduces expected revenue by about $440 million over the next two years and about $1.2 billion over six years. "The upshot of all the changes, both process and economic, is that the forecast now recognizes a recent downward trend in fuel consumption," Madison said.
Madison told the committee that higher construction costs — reflected in a sharp rise in the National Highway Construction Cost Index and seen in local bid results such as State Route 520 work — add roughly another $439 million to…
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