Roads, Bridges, Dollars

By Darrin Youker

For motorists making the morning commute into downtown Detroit, long delays are commonplace. Those using I-94 are truly stressed.

I-94 is a major thoroughfare for commuters and a vital transportation corridor for freight haulers. It is also in serious need of repair. State and local transportation planners have identified $2.5 billion in needed upgrades that would reconstruct pavement, rebuild two intersections, create service roads, and install new bridges, along with adding capacity.

Rebuilding I-94 and performing an $851 million upgrade to the I-75 freeway have long been identified as the top transportation projects in the region, says Carmine Palombo, director of transportation programs for the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments, which sets priorities for transportation projects in the region.

"The problem has been finding the revenue," he says. "Every year we don't find revenue, the cost goes up."

Southeastern Michigan is about to go all-in on those two highways. Planners are ready to spend every cent of their transportation allocations, starting in 2018, on the I-94 and I-75 projects. Doing so will drain all transportation funding, leaving nothing for paving, bridge repairs, or intersection upgrades.

"We don't have a choice," says Robert Morosi, communications specialist for the Michigan Department of Transportation. "These projects have been put off for too long."

Michigan, which has not hiked its 19-cents-a-gallon gas tax since 1997, has seen highway investment decline. Every year, the list of poor roadways and outdated bridges grows faster than construction crews can fix them. "You have a perfect storm brewing for reduced funding, but a growing need," Morosi says.

Michigan's gas tax generates roughly $2 billion a year, with another $1 billion coming from the federal government. But, Palombo says, "We need twice what we are getting now to get ahead of the problem. We have more miles falling into disrepair than we can fix."

Sharing the pain

Michigan is far from alone. Many states face a widening gulf between available money and highway needs. States have slapped weight restrictions on bridges, patched roadways, and deferred maintenance to spread around a shrinking pot of money.

While some states have increased gas taxes or registration fees, that funding may only address the backlog of projects, instead of future needs.

"Experts agree that the nation as a whole is spending half or less of what is needed to maintain and improve the nation's transportation systems," says Jaime Rall, senior policy specialist for the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Because of increased fuel efficiency, alternative fuel vehicles, changes in travel patterns, and an overall drop in driving, gas taxes are no longer bringing in adequate funding, Rall says. Compounding the problem is inflation — and the cost of doing projects — which continues to rise. The result is greater congestion for drivers, closed or weight-restricted bridges, and uncertain funding for transit systems across the country.

The cost — both to drivers and the overall national economy — for deferring transportation investment is nearly $130 billion, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers. "The landscape has changed," says Randy Over, ASCE president. "We are still adding to the system. We are not removing roads and bridges. We need an increasing pool of resources. We are getting behind the eight ball."

Federal storm brewing?

For state transportation planners, the situation could get even worse. The federal Highway Trust Fund — the main source for transportation dollars in many states — is set to go broke by September.

Like state governments, the federal fund for highway improvements relies on gasoline taxes. Congress has not increased the federal 18-cent-a-gallon gas tax for more than 20 years.

As the account balance shrinks, the federal Department of Transportation could slow payments to states or not make reimbursements at all, says Ben Husch, committee director at the National Conference of State Legislatures. Inaction by Congress this summer could make the problem worse, he says.

"Going into 2015, it would prevent the federal government and states from coming to agreement on new projects," he says.

As of April, Congress had not taken action on resolving the problems with the Highway Trust Fund.

State solutions

The Dover Bridge — a 65-foot swing bridge — is a vital link on Maryland's Eastern Shore.

The aging span was often closed because of repairs, cutting off emergency services and a nearby hospital. For years, repairing the 82-year-old bridge was the top priority of local transportation planners.

Thanks to an infusion of $4 billion in state spending through additional gas taxes that began in 2013, projects like the Dover Bridge and others are moving forward.

"We have struggled for so long, operating on a very basic level," says Don Halligan, director of planning for the Maryland Department of Transportation. "This is addressing a backlog of projects throughout the state."

Because Maryland operates airports, mass transit, and a portion of the Port of Baltimore, new funding will assist multimodal transportation projects across the state. New funding will also allow MDOT to expand commuter rail service on Saturdays and Sundays on its lines.

"The revenue that we have received is historic for us," Halligan says. "That's a huge bump for Maryland."

Beyond the gas tax

As states look for more long-term solutions for transportation funding, a few are moving away from a flat gasoline tax.

Just across the Potomac River from Maryland, Virginia in 2013 replaced the state's flat gas tax with a levy based on the wholesale price of gas. The move will bring in $3.4 billion in funding through the reformed gasoline tax, and a larger portion of sales taxes earmarked for transportation.

The move by the Virginia General Assembly is generating some interest in Congress. By moving away from a flat gas tax, and instead assessing a levy on the wholesale cost of gas, funds generated by the tax will adjust for inflation, according to the online newspaper Roll Call. That could take away some of the potential political sting of simply raising the amount of the gas tax.

Pennsylvania lawmakers made a similar move last year when they uncapped the Oil Company Franchise Tax — which imposes taxes on the wholesale price of gas. Lawmakers eliminated the state's 12-cents-a-gallon flat tax on gasoline and increased fees for driver's licenses and motor vehicle registration. Heading into the 2014 construction season, transportation planners are picking priorities from a lengthy list of shelved projects.

Much of the immediate work will focus on the state's bridge infrastructure. Pennsylvania has more structurally deficient bridges than any other state, and while the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has devoted additional resources to the problem, there are still more than 5,000 spans needing repair.

In Pittsburgh, construction is set to begin on the Birmingham Bridge, a major span over the Monongahela River. Pittsburgh's hilly terrain and three rivers have earned it the nickname "The Bridge City." Years of wear and tear show on those structures.

"Without additional money, more bridges were going to go into deficient status than those we were able to repair," says Jim Hassinger, AICP, president of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, which sets priorities for municipal projects. "We've made progress, but there is just a deep backlog that needs to be addressed."

In 2011, Pennsylvania published a report examining the state's declining resources and growing transportation needs. That study placed the state's unmet transportation needs at $3.5 billion, with a growth rate of $1 million a day. "No one questioned the need," says Barry Schoch, PennDOT secretary. "It was a question of how do we fund it."

The new state spending will bring in $2.5 billion for transportation infrastructure each year, including money for mass transit. "The bill fully realized funding for every way that we move residents and goods through the commonwealth," Schoch says. "This is the most comprehensive transportation bill that we have passed."

Decisions?

This past winter, a delegation of Pennsylvania transportation officials traveled to Michigan to explain how the Keystone state resolved its transportation problem. Michigan's transportation planners hope lawmakers will address the issue this year, particularly after a rough winter that beat up roads and bridges.

"There is an absolute need. No one is denying that," says Morosi from MDOT. "We rank 50th in the nation in infrastructure investment."

This fall, Texas residents will vote on a ballot referendum that would dedicate an additional $1.3 billion from the state's "rainy day fund" — a savings account set aside by the state for specific spending needs — for transportation. Like many states, Texas finds its traditional funding sources are no longer keeping pace with demand, and the growth of the state's population is putting a greater emphasis on new construction, says Mark Cross, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Transportation. The state is expected to grow by 15 million residents over the next 25 years, resulting in new road construction in cities and rural areas, he says.

Texas's surging economy is causing rapid growth in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area, and transportation planners are scrambling to meet the growing demand. Every 10 years, the 12-county metro area adds about one million people. While Dallas and Fort Worth are 30 miles apart, they are blending together. Every day, millions pile into cars, commuting from distant suburbs into both downtown centers. Although mass transit is available, the automobile is still king.

"Dallas is one of the fastest growing regions in the nation," says Chad Edwards, a transportation planner for the North Central Texas Council of Governments. "How do we move these people? Do you widen highways? Do you add transit capacity?"

Regional planners in the North Central Texas region — which encompasses an area the size of Maryland — are taking an all-of-the-above approach. But the primary focus remains on adding highway capacity: building new roadways, widening others, and anticipating where the next wave of growth will occur.

All of the discussions are taking place in an era of fiscal constraints. Currently, planners in the region are using $98.7 million for highway and transit needs over the next 20 years. In prior transportation plans, the region had $145 million to spend on transportation.

"We've had to delay $45 million of transportation projects because the money is not there," Edwards says. "We want to provide the public with an accurate accounting of our needs and help them understand our fiscal realities."

Possible scenarios

By 2015, Pennsylvania expects to start construction on a number of structurally deficient bridges, using a public-private partnership. PennDOT is reviewing proposals from private firms that will construct and maintain around 500 bridges, with the state making performance-based payments.

Pennsylvania is one of several states looking at public-private partnerships, known as P3s, as a future solution for transportation construction. Virginia is seeking private-sector input to ease congestion on a portion of I-66, including the possibility of a tolled express lane. Maryland expects to use a P3 to build the Purple Line — a light-rail line that would connect Bethesda with the rest of the D.C. metro area. Maryland is also looking for a company to operate two rest areas on Interstate 95.

"The premise is [private firms] can run it more efficiently and bring business acumen to the process," says Halligan, MDOT's planning director.

Some communities are using variable pricing — also known as congestion pricing — allowing drivers to pay an additional fee to get into special lanes, says Over, president of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Many of those projects are hybrids of P3s, because those special lanes are often operated by private companies, he says.

They are an attractive solution because they might persuade drivers to consider their options instead of simply adding to gridlock, Over says. "You cause drivers to modify when they drive," he says.

Another option is a vehicle mile tax — a fee assessed on the number of miles an automobile travels each year. Oregon has assessed a VMT on trucks, but there are privacy concerns, Over says. Research is ongoing to determine how states could collect that tax without requiring some type of device that tracks mileage, he says.

Regardless of how states and the federal government choose to fund roads and bridges, the situation is reaching a critical mass, Over adds. Finding those solutions will not only help drivers, but ultimately the nation's economy as well, he says.

"We have to be optimistic. Everyone appreciates the situations we are in," he says. "It will take everything in the toolbox to make this work."

Darrin Youker is a freelance writer based in Reading, Pennsylvania.

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Resources

The National Conference of State Legislatures has a database of state transportation funding bills: www.ncsl.org/research/transportation/ncsl-transportation-funding-finance-legis-database.aspx

American Society of Civil Engineers infrastructure ranking: www.asce.org

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials: www.transportation.org