During last week's House Transportation Committee hearing, OPR reported on the health of the state Transportation budget.

Heading into the 2009-11 biennium, there is now a $71 million funding gap between projected revenues and current projected expenditures. Perhaps more alarming is that over the next 16 year construction horizon, an important timeline for the remaining Nickel and TPA gas tax projects, the projected funding gap balloons to $4.6 billion. And this is in addition to the $3.8 billion funding gap experienced during the last two legislative seesions, which, through a series of budget maneuvers and project delays, the legislature was able to fund.

The governor will get the first crack at bridging these shortfalls with her proposed budget and I imagine it will in! clude further delaying several Nickel and TPA gas tax projects.

You can read more about which projects were delayed in 2008 here: 11 Gas Tax Projects Delayed