EDITORIAL: Dig deep for Indiana road funding compromise

There's no time to waste. The General Assembly is slated to adjourn Friday.

Region residents and transportation leaders should pull no punches in contacting their state legislators to remind them just how important this legislation is to the future of Indiana's economy and infrastructure.

The outcome of the conference committee debate holds sway over whether Indiana will have about $700 million or up to $1 billion per year in new road funding.

Our General Assembly should take a bow for showing much unified resolve in making long-term road funding a priority this legislative session.

For years, the concept has proved elusive, with shortsighted fixes that reveal themselves as half a Band-Aid on a gushing wound.

Now we have a bipartisan voice for long-term road funding and a governor who has prioritized it.

Yes, the plan likely will mean higher taxes on gasoline.

Of course, no one particularly fancies paying more in taxes.

But we all use Indiana roads. We all reap the benefits of traversing the state to the points we want or need to reach.

Many of us also bear the burdens of traffic gridlock or the cost of damaged vehicles from traveling structurally deficient or functionally obsolete highways and byways.

The Legislature is one last short leg away of an epic trip the state has taken toward long-term road funding.

Pull out the remaining stops, and get it done.