State announces 2011 gas tax revenue

Whitman County’s road department will receive $4,471,570 from state gas tax proceeds to perform maintenance work on county roads in 2011.

The state’s County Road Administration Board informed county commissioners this week of next year’s estimated total.

Public Works Director Mark Storey said the number is down a bit from the last few years. Gas tax revenue has been declining over recent years, he said, as high gas prices have caused more of the state’s residents, primarily in metropolitan centers, to use public transportation.

Of the total, $510,903 will come the county’s way through the County Arterial Preservation Program, a 3.2 percent share of the overall $15,759,000 being distributed throughout the state.

Storey said those funds must be used on preservation projects. The state dollars pay for a little more than half of the county’s annual chip seal program on paved roads.

Whitman County will receive $3,960,667 in discretionary gas tax funds. Storey said those funds are used in the county’s annual maintenance program, projects like new gravel on roads, asphalt patches, signs, paint and snow removal.