The Strong Towns Podcast Gas Taxes, Freeways, And What Washington Should Fund Now
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Apr 6, 2026 Tony Dutzik, senior policy analyst at Frontier Group known for transportation research and exposing highway boondoggles. He traces the messy history of the gas tax and federal highway funding. They discuss urban damage from interstates, the 1970s transit funding pivot, repeated Highway Trust Fund bailouts, and big choices about devolving funding to states versus national priorities.
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Interstate Funding Fueled Suburb Growth And Urban Damage
- The interstate program tied massive federal funding to highway expansion and enabled suburban growth while also damaging urban neighborhoods.
- Tony Dutzik cites the interstate network's success for connectivity but says its urban impacts were distortionary and later widely regretted.
Gas Tax Functioned As A National Redistributive Fund
- The federal gas tax was never a pure user fee; it redistributed costs nationally rather than matching use and benefit locally.
- Tony notes New York drivers paid for highways in Idaho and early planning rejected tolling on long rural links.
Boston Highway Revolt Redirected Funds To Transit
- Boston's highway revolt canceled proposals to run interstates through dense neighborhoods and redirected federal money toward transit projects like the Orange Line reroute.
- Tony recounts 1960s plans to extend I-95 into Boston, land clearance, and political pushback that preserved vibrant neighborhoods.