Driving down the ill-maintained Highway 25 to Jackson is “like being on the high seas in some places.”
So says Blake Wilson, president and CEO of the Mississippi Economic Council, which brought its annual tour to East Mississippi Community College — Golden Triangle campus on Tuesday.
Business leaders and policy makers from around the Golden Triangle gathered to have lunch, network and hear Wilson’s presentation on the state of Mississippi’s economic competitiveness. This year’s tour focused heavily on transportation and infrastructure.
In December, the MEC’s Blueprint Mississippi Transportation Infrastructure Task Force released a report on transportation and infrastructure that concluded that many of the state’s roads and bridges are in disrepair and that current funding levels are too low to maintain current conditions. Highway 25 isn’t that old, Wilson pointed out in his presentation. Mississippi’s roads are primarily funded by an 18 cent gas tax that has been in place since 1987. In that time, Wilson said, vehicle miles traveled have increased by 90 percent, the number of vehicles on the road has increased by 17 percent, inflation has increased by over 100 percent and the cost of construction has increased by more than 200 percent. There has only been 1.6 percent growth in Mississippi’s gas consumption in that time.
“We’re falling behind by standing still,” Wilson said.
Wilson’s presentation included photos of bridges in the Golden Triangle that need maintenance, such as the bridge over Gilmer Creek on Highway 45, the bridge over Vernon Branch on Highway 182 and the bridge over Bluff Creek on Highway 50. Many of the bridges are supported by timbers that were put in place in the 1920s, ’30s and ’40s, Wilson said.
Surrounding states including Alabama and Tennessee are facing similar problems.
“Those states are about to take action,” Wilson said. “We cannot be left behind on this.”
The MEC suggested several options for funding infrastructure, including increases to the gas tax, vehicle registration fees and the general sales tax. It also suggested adding a sales tax on gas or adding special fees on alternative fuel vehicles, to name a few. The MEC turned the options over to the state legislature to decide which methods to use.
It will cost $375 million to adequately repair the roads and bridges over the next 10 years, which equates to around 37 cents a day per registered vehicle, according to Wilson. The MEC conducted a statewide poll which found that 50 percent of people said they would support raising taxes and fees to repair the state’s infrastructure, he said.
During his presentation, Wilson also talked about education and healthcare. He had attendees vote on which districts, if any, charter schools should be allowed. More than 70 percent of participants said they strongly agreed or somewhat agreed that charter schools should be part of the state’s overall education reform strategy. Opinions about where the charter schools should be located were a little more divided, with 30 percent of voters saying they should be in any district and 44 percent saying they should be located only within D and F school zones.
The MEC also recommended review distribution of funds for education, consolidating services and districts and appointing school superintendents rather than electing them.
Wilson even briefly attempted to tackle the state’s image, and particularly the state flag.
“Folks, it is being raised more and more by multi-state companies as an issue,” he said. “We’ve got to find a way to dialog through this … because folks, it’s hurting our opportunities.”
Wilson also said that in regions of the state where the tour had already been, attendees said they felt the workforce was only somewhat prepared for jobs and careers.
“If you were trying to sell a car,” Wilson said. “And somebody said, ‘Well, what do you think about the reliability of this car? Is it prepared to serve my needs?’ And he said, ‘Yeah, it’s somewhat prepared.’ Would you buy that car? No.”
The MEC has implemented programs to improve preparedness not only for students in the college track but the career track as well, Wilson said.
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