When it comes to the upkeep of Rhode Island’s highway system, taxpayers haven’t exactly been getting their money’s worth, according to a recent study on the maintenance costs and conditions of the nation’s roads.
The report, issued recently by the libertarian Reason Foundation, ranks Rhode Island 47th among states in the cost-effectiveness of its road and highway maintenance.
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Rhode Island spent $361,106 per mile of roadway in the state in 2005 – one of the highest rates in the country – but road and bridge conditions have been lacking, the study says.
In fact, the state reported in 2005 that 53 percent of its highway bridges are considered deficient, the highest percentage of any state in the country.
And the study says 62 percent of Rhode Island’s urban highways have been deemed congested, putting it 43rd in a ranking of states. By comparison, South Carolina spent $31,262 per mile of roadway in that state – the lowest spending rate in the country – yet it reported that 23.63 percent of its bridges were deficient. At the same time, a little less than 50 percent of South Carolina’s roads were considered congested.
“Rhode Island is spending two to three times the average, but they seem to have trouble getting quality out of the system,” said David Hartgen, an author of the study and a retired professor of transportation studies at the University of North Carolina.
Among Rhode Island’s neighbors, Massachusetts ranked 45th in cost-effectiveness in the study; Connecticut ranked 39th.
North Dakota topped the study’s rankings, while New Jersey placed 50th.
The Reason Foundation’s annual study measures the performance of state-owned roads and highways in 12 different categories, including traffic fatalities, congestion, pavement condition, bridge condition, highway maintenance and administrative costs. This year’s rankings were determined by examining the 2005 statistics provided by each state to the Federal Highway Administration, according to Hartgen.
R.I. Department of Transportation officials said last week that they were still reviewing the report and could not comment in depth.
However, DOT spokesman Charles St. Martin pointed out that Rhode Island roads are at a disadvantage versus those in other states. Salting and sanding of roads during the winter and freeze-thaw cycles add to the deterioration of an already aging infrastructure, St. Martin said.
“Anytime you rank near the bottom of the list, you’re not happy about that,” he said. “But from the start, we have some strikes going against us.”
Robert Poole, director of transportation studies at the Reason Foundation, acknowledged that certain states face problems that others do not. But for states such as Rhode Island, “to some extent, that’s just an excuse,” Poole said. “There’s still a lot of spending that’s unexplained.”
Rhode Island, added Hartgen, has “a large budget in relation to the size of the system.”
At 1,102 miles of state-controlled roads, Rhode Island’s highway system is the second-smallest in the country, behind Hawaii at 975. By comparison, North Carolina has the largest highway system at 79,779 miles.
The study’s release comes as the DOT – which has a $340-million budget for fiscal 2008 — is mired in a controversy over its contracting practices. Last month, the agency’s chief engineer, Edmund Parker, was placed on paid leave in the wake of news reports about exorbitant overhead payments to contractors. Since then, the state police have started their own inquiry into DOT spending.
Still, the Reason Foundation report isn’t all bad news for Rhode Island’s roads. The state has the seventh-lowest fatality rate, 1.04 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles. It’s also tied with several other states for the best urban and rural interstate conditions.
But in other categories, Rhode Island is near the bottom of the rankings (in the case of dollar figures, that means more money spent):
• 48th in maintenance spending per mile of roadway ($74,506).
• 45th in capital and bridge spending per mile of roadway ($167,735).
• 44th in funding, fees, taxes and bonds received per mile of roadway ($365,624).
• 44th in administrative spending per mile of roadway ($24,481).
• 50th in the percentage of deficient bridges (53 percent).
• 43rd in percentage of urban interstate congestion (62 percent).
A spokesman from Gov. Donald L. Carcieri said that two extensive highway projects started under his leadership – the relocation of Interstate 195 in Providence and the reconstruction of the Washington Bridge – should help alleviate congestion on the state’s highways.
“Governor Carcieri recognizes that we have more work to do,” said spokesman Michael Maynard in an e-mailed statement. “That’s why he proposed in his budget using $67.5 million in tobacco settlement funds to leverage another $270 million in federal matching money that would have funded the maintenance and construction of roads and bridges.”
The proposal, Maynard noted, wasn’t supported by the General Assembly.
