The Chamber supports the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority’s (OTA) conversion to a cashless toll system that will serve to enhance safety, increase travel time reliability, allow passage of high/wide loads and create additional interchanges such as I-44/Wellston, OK; I-44/Amber, OK; and John Kilpatrick Turnpike/County Line Road to access communities and generate economic development. ODOT EIGHT-YEAR PLAN The Chamber supports providing adequate annual dedicated funding necessary to preserve and implement the Oklahoma Department of Transportation’s eight-year construction work plan. Furthermore, the Chamber will strongly oppose any effort to divert dedicated transportation funding to other areas of government. ROADS FUND The Chamber supports raising the cap on the Rebuilding Oklahoma Access and Driver Safety (ROADS) Fund, the key funding mechanism for ODOT’s Eight-Year Plan, to combat ongoing inflation and reduced purchasing power for materials, manpower and maintenance. NATIONALLY RANKED BRIDGE PROGRAM The Chamber supports providing adequate annual dedicated funding for ODOT to maintain continued investment toward addressing Oklahoma’s structurally deficient bridges on the state’s highway system and further enable ODOT to maintain a nationally leading bridge improvement program. SUSTAINABLE FUNDING To address the declining transportation revenues associated with fuel tax, the Chamber supports the research and development of sustainable and equitable funding alternatives, including concepts of a Fair Miles Pilot, as envisioned by House Bill 1712, tailored to Oklahoma’s future needs, in support of transportation infrastructure. INFRASTRUCTURE TAX The Chamber opposes legislation to place disproportionate taxes or unnecessary regulations on infrastructure/materials/ construction that would have a negative impact on Chamber- supported transportation projects and economic development. U.S. 412 INTERSTATE DESIGNATION The Chamber supports the recent federal designation of U.S. Route 412 as a federal interstate highway to foster increased safety, economic development and connectivity across Oklahoma. Developing U.S. 412 to interstate standards will enhance travel and commerce to the Oklahoma City region through improved links with Interstate 35.
PORTS OF ENTRY The Chamber supports providing adequate annual dedicated funding and staffing levels for the timely completion and effective use of weigh stations at Oklahoma’s ports of entry to ensure the protection of Oklahoma’s roads and bridges from unnecessary damage caused by overweight freight loads. STATE TRANSIT FUNDING The Chamber supports protecting state revenues allocated into the State of Oklahoma’s Public Transit Revolving Fund to meet citizen demand for public transit. The Chamber supports the continued implementation of ODOT’s Long Range Transit Plan through the Office of Mobility and Public Transit. HEARTLAND FLYER The Chamber supports protecting and expanding passenger rail service as an important transportation option for both rural and urban Oklahomans. The Chamber will work with the Oklahoma congressional delegation, the Oklahoma state Legislature, ODOT, Amtrak, the City of Oklahoma City, Class 1 Railroads and the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments (ACOG) to oppose efforts to reduce or eliminate state or federal funding received by Oklahoma to operate the Heartland Flyer Amtrak service to Fort Worth, Texas. Moreover, the Chamber supports ongoing efforts by ODOT to negotiate with the State of Texas and Amtrak to ensure Amtrak can be maintained as the passenger rail carrier. The Chamber is taking active steps with our partners to pursue the objective of extending the Heartland Flyer Amtrak service to Newton, Kansas, which would connect Oklahoma City to Kansas City, St. Louis, Chicago and other locations on the national Amtrak system. Furthermore, the Chamber supports the designation of the entire Heartland Flyer line (Fort Worth – Oklahoma City – Newton – National Network) as a national Amtrak route within the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Rail Administration’s specific “Corridor Identification
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