The transportation funding package is still alive in the halls of the state capitol after passing the Senate on Wednesday 34-13.

While the package is now with the House for more work, the most important thing is the bill is still alive. Negotiations can continue throughout the session and go until the end, but that is what its supporters wanted — open discussion. The goal of the Mississippi Development Authority and other supporters was to put something broad on the table and let lawmakers tweak it to be what they felt Mississippians would and could support.

The fact is transportation does need more tax dollars in order to fix our infrastructure, especially bridges throughout the state that cannot carry what their weight limit says they can. State roadways, including those in Lafayette County, also need some help.

While nobody likes raised taxes, something has to be done to get more funds to the crews fixing and creating roads. There needs to be a way for everyone, whether it is a resident or a large corporation to pay just a little more at the pump to make our infrastructure appealing to businesses for economic reasons and for us to safely get from Point A to Point B.