Creative solutions

It took a significant blow to the economy to change their minds, but Nevada policymakers finally are willing to explore having the private sector pay for highway improvements and recoup their investments through tolls on drivers. After the idea went nowhere in the 2007 Legislature, on Thursday the Nevada Transportation Board supported a proposal for privatized toll lanes connecting the northwest Las Vegas Valley to the south Strip.

"During these difficult fiscal times, it's essential that we look at every alternative for funding our transportation needs," said board member Gov. Jim Gibbons.

The rising costs of highway construction materials and increased vehicle fuel efficiency have combined to significantly diminish the buying power of the state's gasoline tax revenues.

As a result, the Nevada Department of Transportation estimates that the state has about $6 billion worth of needed highway capacity upgrades that can't be built anytime soon -- not under the current tax structure, anyway.

The plan endorsed Thursday would take taxpayers off the hook for some projects by charging an undetermined toll on new express lanes for vehicles with one or two passengers. Emergency vehicles and cars with three or more passengers would be able to use the lanes free of charge. The lanes would be built along U.S. Highway 95 from Ann Road south to Interstate 15, then south on I-15 to the Las Vegas Beltway. New flyover ramps would be built over the Spaghetti Bowl interchange to segregate the express lanes.

The Transportation Board's support for the plan isn't binding -- under Nevada law, toll roads are still illegal. The 2009 Legislature will have to scrap that law, or at least grant an exception, to move this proposal forward. And issues such as maintenance responsibilities, the duration of the toll agreement, toll increases and enforcement measures and costs would need to be addressed before any agreement could be finalized.

But the board's new enthusiasm for private-sector congestion solutions is extremely encouraging. The state needn't tap taxpayers again and again to meet its transportation needs, not when investors are willing to cover the costs and bill users directly.

The Legislature should repeal the state law that bans toll roads so other highway construction proposals can be brought forward.