“I’ve been through too many governors, and I don’t care which party they’re in, they all have a road deal, but they don’t have a road plan. We’re in desperate need of a road plan.”

– Sen. John Arthur Smith, D-Deming

With 26 years in the Senate, the Finance chairman knows of what he speaks.

Gov. Gary Johnson had his $323 million rebuild of 118 miles of U.S. 550 to the Four Corners that won’t be paid off until 2024; Gov. Bill Richardson had his $1.2 billion Investment Partnership (GRIP) that included the Rail Runner commuter train and is still siphoning off a share of $141 million a year in debt service from road funds.

Read more here: http://www.abqjournal.com/548911/opinion/gas-tax-mvd-fund-shift-depend-on-real-road-plan.html

No wonder Smith looks a bit askance at Gov. Susana Martinez’s pitch to dedicate $60 million annually over multiple years to highway projects without articulating exactly how to pay for it – well, other than more borrowing. Experience shows why the road to investing responsibly in infrastructure needs to be paved with a real plan.