A Republican from north central Iowa who’s been an outspoken advocate of raising
the state’s gas tax says he won reelection last November by his largest margin ever. Representative Josh Byrnes of Osage says he’s telling his fellow Republicans that voters understand the gravity of the problem with Iowa’s transportation network.

Many Republicans say they’ll oppose any tax increase, including a hike in taxes and fees used for road and bridge projects. But Byrnes says some Republicans are growing concerned because counties are borrowing money for transportation projects because there’s not enough money in the state’s Road Use Tax Fund, the account into which fuel taxes are deposited.

Due to the shortfall in the state’s road construction budget, over 30 Iowa counties have borrowed nearly 300-million dollars for road and bridge projects.

Governor Terry Branstad issued a warning about the state’s deteriorating transportation network during his “Condition of the State” message and while Branstad did not embrace a specific idea for fixing the problem, Branstad did urge legislators to find a “bipartisan solution.”