Contrary to some popular rumors, major improvements to Highway 56 between McMinnville and Smithville remain a lively possibility, Tennessee Transportation Commissioner John Schroer says in a WCPI interview airing this week.
A “super two-lane” is being considered as one of the state’s Expedited Delivery Projects, Schroer said in a recording session last Thursday following his appearance at The Rotary Club of McMinnville. 
“We will soon be talking to your community about a super two-lane” that would straighten some of the worst curves and widen the travel lanes, Schroer said. A full four-lane might follow sometime in the future, using the “super two-lane” as one-half of the finished project. “We can start your project sooner. If you insist on a four-lane you will probably have to wait.”
Schroer explained his administration has focused on rationalizing proposed construction projects to achieve the best benefits for the cost.  In the public radio 91.3 interview, he cites examples of how his department has avoided more than $500 million in taxpayer costs while delivering road improvements that serve the needs of the motoring public. 
“If you have a bad tooth you don’t pull all the teeth,” he said.  Similarly, highways plagued by a few bad curves can be remedied by rebuilding those curves with a better design.
Addressing the Rotarians and their guests, Schroer said Tennessee’s widely envied system of highways and bridges — rated third best in the nation in a poll of professional truck drivers — is under threat from sharply declining revenue and increasing costs for construction of new roads and maintenance of the existing infrastructure.  The state’s debt-free, pay-as-you-go roads are funded by a charge on the users, the 21.4 cent-per-gallon tax motorists pay at the pump.
But the tax rate hasn’t changed since 1989. Over the last several years, automobiles have become much more fuel-efficient, so drivers can cover many more miles for the same dime, he said. While better mpg is good for motorists and the environment, fuel tax collections spiral downward. So commuters and truckers may be saving money in the short run, but worsening traffic congestion and travel delays could cost them in the long run, Schroer says.
 “No one wants to raise taxes, but building highways is one of the things the state has to do,” the transportation chief observed.  “We may be entering a maintenance-only phase,” he continued, hinting that new construction projects may be put on indefinite hold.  “We’re in the midst of what I would call a crisis,” he told the Rotary audience. 
Unless the Tennessee General Assembly effectively addresses that crisis and moves to adjust revenue to meet the needs, he said, the building of new roads may have to be postponed to 2024, pushed back by a current backlog of $6.1 billion in deferred maintenance and construction. 
 “But we can’t wait that long,” as neighboring states move ahead with transportation infrastructure, enticing new industries and new jobs to their communities. Schroer said Tennessee could actually “start losing jobs” if it trails in the highway-building race. “Transportation means jobs,” he said.
Unfortunately, some Tennessee lawmakers prefer their own reelection over the economic well-being of their constituents.  Some legislators have admitted, “We’re not doing anything this year because it’s election year,” referring to the upcoming 2016 General Assembly session, Schroer noted.  “But sometime you have to forgo reelection and do what is right,” Schroer said.
The WCPI 91.3 interview covering these and other subjects will air Tuesday at 5 p.m.; Wednesday at 5:05 a.m.; Thursday at 1 p.m.; and Friday at 1:05 a.m.