Elected officials in Napa County and all five local cities have given their support to placing a proposition on the ballot to improve local roads. The measure would raise the local sales tax by half a cent to raise $464 million over 30 years.

It is expected to come before voters in November.

Recently, two proponents of the measure visited the Register editorial board to explain their support: Jim Leddy, executive director of the Napa County Transportation and Planning Agency, and Ron Profili, who owns industrial property near the airport and leads Napa Citizens for Safety and Congestion Relief.

The road repair effort comes two years after Measure H, a previous transportation tax proposal, failed to receive the necessary two-thirds support from voters.

Profili and Leddy said the new proposal differs substantially from Measure H. Three-quarters of the money goes to repairing local roads, instead of the 25 percent last time. None of the money goes to widening Jamieson Canyon Road. Ten million dollars are slated for safety work on Silverado Trail, whereas no money was pegged for the Trail last time.

Of the remaining money, $112 million would go toward a few specific projects: Extending Newell Drive and Devlin Road, widening to four lanes the First Street overpass of Highway 29, improving the exchange at the intersection of highways 12 and 29 and the one at 29 and 221, and creating three Upvalley roundabouts.

The measure calls for creation of an active oversight citizens committee.

The reasons Leddy, Profili and local leaders say the measure is necessary haven’t changed much: Napa County roads are among the worst in the Bay Area. Every jurisdiction in the county gets a failing grade of less than 60 points in a recent Metropolitan Transportation Commission index, except American Canyon. American Canyon, where roads are newer than in most of the county and where the real issue is congestion, didn‘t do so well, either, getting a 76, or “fair.”

“The conditions of the roads in Napa County are intolerable,” said Profili. “I don’t think there’s an option here. The roads have to be fixed.”

Leddy emphasized the need to be a “self-help county.” Eighty-five percent of all Californians, he said, live in a jurisdiction that contributes to road repairs and gains substantial federal and state matching dollars as a result. Napa and Solano are the only two San Francisco Bay Area counties that do not.

NCTPA projects that the $464 million raised by a local sales tax increase would draw some $605 million in matching state and federal dollars.

Profili estimated that more than half the sales tax generated in Napa County comes from businesses and out-of-county visitors, so the burden on residents is relatively modest.

The obstacles proponents face are similar to 2006. Some people are wary of any new tax; economic worries cast a shadow over spending proposals; and consumers already pay a gas tax — though Leddy argues persuasively that that source of funding simply hasn’t kept pace with the need in California.

Profili said he hopes a lower-key, more “grassroots” campaign than Measure H will persuade local voters. Otherwise, he said we may soon find trouble driving our roads “without getting a dental bill” to pay for fixing our rattling teeth.

Leddy acknowledged the challenges, but said the new measure is driven by the needs of residents, and that putting our money where our tires are is the most direct solution.

“The answer to doom and gloom is to take action,” he said.