News
Study: State Spends Too Much On New Roads, Not Enough on Maintenance
According to a new study from Smart Growth America and Taxpayers for Common Sense, US states, including Washington, spend far more on new road construction than they do on maintaining the roads they have---a situation Transportation Choices Coalition calls a "financial time bomb" as states build hundreds of miles of roads and highways they can't afford to keep in safe working condition.
In Washington State, where 44 percent of roads were not in "good" condition, the report estimates that the state would have to spend $426 million a year for the next 20 years to get all roads that are in poor condition in good repair and maintain the roads that are in good condition to keep them at that level. Despite that need, between 2004 and 2008, the state spent 36 percent of its highway funds on road expansion, or about $479 million, and only 14 percent on road repair and maintenance, or about $181 million.
"Without a renewed commitment to systemmaintenance and repair, the state ensures a networkof declining quality – with attendant safety problems,additional cost to Washington families for car repairs,and a loss of economic competitiveness asbusinesses target states with better freight access," the report concludes.
Additionally, the report found that Washington State ranks 27th in the nation in state spending on transit---just 10 percent of transit funding comes from state resources, leaving local governments to foot the vast majority of the bill.
"By not contributing more toward transit, Washington is missing a critical opportunity to create jobs and boost regional and state economies."
Read the whole report here.
In Washington State, where 44 percent of roads were not in "good" condition, the report estimates that the state would have to spend $426 million a year for the next 20 years to get all roads that are in poor condition in good repair and maintain the roads that are in good condition to keep them at that level. Despite that need, between 2004 and 2008, the state spent 36 percent of its highway funds on road expansion, or about $479 million, and only 14 percent on road repair and maintenance, or about $181 million.
"Without a renewed commitment to systemmaintenance and repair, the state ensures a networkof declining quality – with attendant safety problems,additional cost to Washington families for car repairs,and a loss of economic competitiveness asbusinesses target states with better freight access," the report concludes.
Additionally, the report found that Washington State ranks 27th in the nation in state spending on transit---just 10 percent of transit funding comes from state resources, leaving local governments to foot the vast majority of the bill.
"By not contributing more toward transit, Washington is missing a critical opportunity to create jobs and boost regional and state economies."
Read the whole report here.
