The governor’s budget proposal would take 200 million dollars from the state highway fund to help cover a budget deficit. Secretary of Transportation Deb Miller says recent bids for highway projects have been cheaper than expected, freeing up the money. The state is embarking on a 10-year, 8 billion dollar transportation project, known as T-Works (tee-works). Miller says the highway fund can handle this transfer, but if legislators keep taking money in the future, the T-Works project could be compromised.
Miller says lawmakers have taken money from the fund other times in recent years. She says if costs or inflation increase beyond their projections in the future, it could also mean scaling back some of the T-Works projects.