Both sides appear to have good points in the battle over a road finance bill in the Alabama Senate.

Sen. Lowell Barron, D-Fyffe, proposed a bill that would have, over 10 years, pumped $1 billion into road construction in the state, according to the Associated Press. The Senate, however, voted the bill down by a 19-11 mostly along party lines. Two more votes would have been sufficient to pass a constitutional amendment.

The Republican opposition said the bill would take too much money from the Alabama Trust Fund, which was built on oil and gas revenues. While the bill’s detractors are probably right because of the dire financial situation that exists in our state and our country, our county officials would surely love to have some money for roads.

Residents that got their roads paved as a result would surely be grateful, also.