We all know about our crumbling roads and bridges. If you listen to the news, you probably wouldn’t drive on a highway or cross a bridge. Ignoring that apprehension I recently drove Interstate 95 from Massachusetts to south Florida and back.
The most exciting part of the drive was staring at the road and weaving to avoid the potholes. I did get a chance to notice one thing though. There was a great deal of construction, not repairing the roads and bridges, but rather widening roads, adding new exit and entrance ramps and my very favorite, tearing down and building new rest areas. There is no doubt all these things are desirable, but com’on guys, priorities please!
What about the crumbling bridges and all the potholes? I already had to replace a wheel, tires and have had two alignments in the last three months. Could it be all this new construction is more lucrative for somebody?
Not to worry, Congress is on top of the situation. According to the Congressional Budget Office, The Highway Trust Fund will be bankrupt next year unless Congress acts. The Trust is the main source of revenue of funds for road repairs and construction. The Trust is funded by the gasoline tax which has not been raised since 1993. It stands at 18.4 cents a gallon. If it had just kept pace with inflation it would be 29 cents in 2014. What to do, what to do?
I have every reason to believe Congress will tackle this funding crisis with the same vigor and forthrightness it has applied to Social Security and Medicare. Problem solved! 😟
QUINNSCOMMENTARY 
I’ve lived in the Puget Sound area for thirty years. One thing I noticed when I moved here was how well maintained the roads are compared to where I moved from, Ohio, and where I grew up, in the Buffalo, N.Y. area.
I have not researched this, so I don’t know if my theory about this is true, it is speculation on my part. My guess is that federal highway money is allocated on some kind of an “even handed” basis such as population density, number of miles of highway, etc.
My guess is a critical factor not taken into account is the weather in the winter. Pavement that undergoes cycles of freezing and thaw for many months deteriorates much faster than pavement that doesn’t. The use of salt, while often helpful for drivers, actually speeds up deterioration.
I recall driving Interstate 90 twenty years ago ( I-90 runs from Seattle to New York City) in the section that runs along Lake Erie. I had forgotten what the highways were like back home. Wow, I-90 was in terrible shape.
So, if you live in the colder states, your roads are worse. Here in the Puget Sound lowlands, snow is fairly rare. I think I saw snow twice this past winter for a day or two. And the roads are really nice.
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