POTHOLES AND POLITICS: HOW CONGRESS CAN FIX YOUR ROADS

Abstract

Urban and suburban highways account for less than three percent of road miles in metropolitan areas, yet they carry more than one third of all vehicle miles traveled in our nation's cities and suburbs. As Congress tackles reauthorization of the nation's transportation law, the 1991 Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA), these interstates, freeways, and expressways - the vital core of the country's road network - are crumbling. The main reason is that each year state departments of transportation (DOTs) divert billions of dollars available for road repair to the construction of new highways, typically on the suburban fringe. Since the enactment of ISTEA, money available for highway repair that was instead spent on new highway construction in major metropolitan areas alone could have resurfaced almost 5,000 mi (8,045 km) of existing urban highway - repairing every mile of urban highway currently in poor or mediocre condition. Because fixing a highway in poor condition can cost ten times more than routine maintenance of roads in fair or better condition, diverting repair money to new construction further increases long-term road repair costs. It also increases maintenance costs - to the tune of billions of dollars each year - for drivers whose cars are battered by failing roads. Further supporting statistics are presented in this report, along with recommendations for amending and strengthening ISTEA.