The gas tax increase approved by the 2017 Oregon Legislature as part of a state-wide transportation package should help Wasco County’s road program.  Arthur Smith of Wasco County Public Works says the County in the last two years has been able to increase the pace of pavement maintenance to 30 miles per year, and will be able to sustain that with the new transportation funding along with addressing gravel roads, adding it will take time.  Smith says there are major road projects identified in a 2009 transportation system plan update that the County has not had the resources to take on, and he says they would like to begin to address those, but that probably will not happen for a few more years.  The state’s gas tax goes up by four cents in 2018, and will increase incrementally by ten cents over the next eight years.