Out, %@$&*! Potholes!

Cracked roadways cost nation $5.9 billion, 57 percent of urban roads subpar, report says 

BY JOHN D. SCHULZ 

Senator Pothole soon may be out of work but his namesakes are alive and well. Even though Sen. Al D'Amato, R.-N.Y., lost his seat to Rep. Charles Schumer, D.-N.Y., it's clear that the problem that caused D'Amato's constituents to give him that nickname remains. 

Potholes and cracked highways on the nation's most heavily traveled roads cost drivers $5.9 billion annually, a report by the Surface Transportation Policy Project says. The STPP report found that 57 percent of America's urban highway miles are in substandard repair. The STPP is a Washington-based coalition of more than 200 environmental and community groups advocating a balanced transport policy that protects the environment, promotes social equity and makes communities more livable. 

A new report, "Potholes and Politics," found that states spend just 41 percent of their flexible federal funds on road repair. Rather than repair, states find it more attractive to build new highways. 

It can cost more than $100 million a mile to build new highways in metropolitan areas. STPP and Taxpayers for Common Sense say enough is enough. They want states to fix the most heavily traveled roads first, then build new highways later. 

"If your roof leaked, you'd fix it before building a new addition on your house. It's common sense," said Roy Kienitz, STPP executive director. "The same should be true for our highways. States need to fix existing roads before building new ones." 

Kienitz came to STPP from the U.S. Senate where he was a staffer on the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. He also is a former chief of staff to Sen. Daniel Moynihan, D-N.Y., who was chief architect of the original Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act in 1991. 

What makes it more attractive to build new roads than repair old ones? Jobs. Repairing roads is labor-intensive, but at most there are only a few different types of disciplines and companies involved. But building a new two- or four-lane highway requires a much larger cast: planners, designers, engineers, landscapers, earth removers, as well as the asphalt and concrete guys. 

A second reason, according to the report: money. Many new road projects are guided more by politics than any comprehensive transportation policy. Developers and land speculators profit from higher land values when new roads are built nearby. Consequently, politicians can benefit from and often take credit for any newly opened stretch of highway. Except for soon-to-be-ex-Sen. D'Amato, few in Washington ever took credit for patching potholes. 

Thanks to the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, which allocates $216 billion for transportation projects over the next five years, states have the money to meet repair needs (see chart). Now, they need the will, the new report said. 

"When you have $200 billion to spend, you can bet there will be pork-barrel spending," said Jill Lancelot, legislative director for Taxpayers for Common Sense. "Believe me, there's plenty of money for states to do the right thing - fixing roads first." 

Oregon tops the list of states with the worst urban highways, with 92 percent of its urban roads in less than good condition, the report found. Illinois ranks next with 90 percent, and Colorado (86 percent) is third. The study also found that metropolitan-area highways are worst in Virginia Beach, Va., followed closely by Chicago, New Orleans, Denver and San Diego. 

Using its "Pothole Index," the report also names the states neglecting their roads the most by showing which states spend the least amount of their flexible federal funds on urban highway repairs. Arkansas, President Clinton's home state and home of Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater, ranked first, according to the report. Maryland ranked second, followed by Colorado, North Carolina and Oklahoma in the Pothole Index top five. 

States are wasting money by funding costly new road projects while existing roads are crumbling, Lancelot said. "Hard-earned taxpayer dollars should be used to fix roads first," she said. 

The report said drivers spend more on vehicle repairs - $5.9 billion a year - than states choose to spend on road repairs, which it estimates at $2.7 billion annually. 

"What we have is bad priority-setting," Kienitz said. "We're being forced to pay twice - taxes at the pump and repairs at the garage. Taxpayers are being taken for a ride.