The state’s legislators are taking a close look at transportation in the state, and it isn’t just about roads. 17th District State Representative Nancy Dembowski (D-Knox) is part of the Transportation Committee, and that group is holding three meetings this summer to discuss the transportation issue.
Dembowski said that the committee is engaged in long range planning for a three year time period.
In the first year the committee is identifying needs, or what should we have that we don’t have. The second year will be devoted to where do we go from here, and how do we attain what we don’t have now.
But Dembowski and the other committee members still are aware that federal funding will play a big part in what can be put into place.
“The large looming question continues to be the Federal Government,” said Dembowski. “We have no idea what kind of funding will come from the Federal Government. In the quandry that everything is in there, can we depend on the Federal Government? Forty cents of every dollar that Indiana gets for transportation comes from the Federal Government. Can we continue to count on that? Are they going to get into a program where that won’t be available? There are a lot of interesting questions that need to be answered.”
Other areas besides roads the Transportation Committee are looking into are aviation and rail.
