Kentucky’s gas tax shrinks as road needs grow

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky’s gas tax is shrinking even as its need for road and bridge work grows.

Triggered by automatic reductions pegged to the price of fuel, Kentucky’s gas tax dropped 4.3 cents in January and is scheduled to drop another 5.1 cents in April, decreases that amount to a $270 million cut to the state’s road fund.

The pressure on Kentucky’s road fund comes amid declining federal transportation spending nationwide that is shifting more responsibility for road and bridge maintenance to state and local governments. Federal road spending in Kentucky has remained flat, and state officials have turned to tolls to pay for major bridge projects in Louisville and northern Kentucky.

Some Senate Republicans have proposed freezing the gas tax at its current rate. But the bill faces significant hurdles.

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