Earmarked Roads Funds Under Fire

An Omaha senator is among those questioning whether Nebraska can afford to earmark $70 million a year for new highways when there are so many other demands on the state’s dollars.

The governor is seeking tax cuts, and legislators are asking for increased spending for abused and neglected children, K-12 education and the University of Nebraska, among other items.

State Sen. Brenda Council said that might mean repealing or paring back last year’s Build Nebraska Act, which earmarked additional state funds beginning in 2013 to complete the state’s unfinished four-lane expressway systems, build bypasses around major cities and help cash-strapped cities fix their streets.

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