We heard it loud and clear last week in front of the Senate Transportation and Public Safety Committee: The state’s roads are aging, and officials across this part of the state are worried.  

Minnesota has thousands of miles of roadway and not enough money to pay for them all.

Simply looking at pavement alone, Freeborn County needs a forecasted $10.9 million annually for the next 10 years to maintain its transportation system. Of that amount, $4 million will be paid for through a gas tax already in place, a levy and a wheelage tax, but that leaves $6.9 million in unfunded pavement projects.

If the county passes a proposed half-cent local-option sales tax, it is projected to bring in about $2 million more a year. Where will the remaining $4.9 million come from each year?

The county board has exhausted its toolbox and needs help.

It’s a similar story for Albert Lea.

The city alone has $36 million in projects that need to be completed in the next five years but nowhere near enough in its coffers to pay for them. The city is only projected to receive about $3.5 million in municipal state aid funds toward road projects over the next five years, which does not even cover 10 percent of the total costs.

Officials from the neighboring communities of Austin and Owatonna shared similar stories. The need is high and the funds are low. Local governments are tired of passing on property tax increases to residents to pay for a broken system.

We urge the Legislature to come together, despite party, and come up with a solution — not just a Band-Aid approach but a long-term transportation funding plan.

We ask legislators to remember the effects poor roads can have — not only on residents who live here, but on businesses and the economy as well.

While we do not disagree that coming up with a solution is difficult, we ask the Legislature to do the due diligence of thinking through all options before settling on one.

We owe it not only to our communities now but also in the future.