State's $20B transportation funding gap grows

By Noah Bierman, Globe Staff

The state's $20 billion transportation budget shortfall has continued to grow, according to a commission that first identified the 20-year funding gap.

"Every time you turn around the numbers keep coming back to us," said Stephen J. Silveira, chairman of the state's Transportation Finance Commission. "Nothing has changed for the better."

Members of the commission testified at a public hearing today on the eve of a legislative session in which transportation is expected to be a priority. To keep roads and public transportation in good repair, commission members urged lawmakers to enact a package of 22 reforms and increase the state's gas tax.

Commission members also issued a "word of caution" regarding plans to combine various transpiration bureaucracies, including a proposal floated by Governor Deval Patrick that would eliminate the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority.

"They're almost always oversold. At best, they create some efficiencies and very little savings," said Michael J. Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation and a member of the commission.

Widmer said he worried about putting too many more responsibilities on already overburdened public agencies.

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