Financing America’s roads: The past is prologue

This article provides a historical perspective of American roadway financing. It explores revenue collection and expenditures at the federal, state, and local governmental levels. Accounting practices of the Highway Trust Fund are discussed including the enactment of the Truth in Budgeting Act to shift revenue collection closer to a direct-user tax. Factors affecting roadway tax revenues are identified and the impact of increasing taxes is discussed. Four key considerations which will continue to shape roadway revenue collection are identified