Posted by Leonard Steinberg on February 27th, 2014

We have all complained about the condition of our New York roads before, but at times we may have felt we were whining: we were not. Its really that bad according to a new report released by TRIP, a Washington, D.C.-based national transportation organization. Have you ever driven down Eleventh Avenue at 27th Street? Its akin to a war zone. Yet where are those Federal tax dollars that are supposed to pay for these roads? The Federal government spends only 72 cents for every tax dollar New Yorkers generate. Here are some facts TRIP claims for you to ponder in your next cabride:

• Unsafe and congested roadways cost New York motorists a total of $20.3 billion annually statewide, and approximately $2,300 per driver in the New York City area.
• investment in transportation at the local, state and federal levels could relieve traffic congestion, improve conditions, increase safety and support long-term economic growth in New York.
• Bad roads add expense to the maintenance of cars, and the delays they cause cost businesses time and money.
• 74% of major roads in New York City are in either poor or mediocre condition.
• Traffic congestion causes 59hours of delays annually for the average city driver.
• Nearly 28% of New York’s state-operated bridges are in need of replacement, reconstruction or rehabilitation.
• 34.5% of state-maintained bridges in the New York City area need replacement, reconstruction or rehabilitation.
• The Federal Highway Administration found that every $1 billion invested in highway construction would support approximately 27,800 jobs.
• Traffic accidents in New York killed 5,924 people between 2008 and 2012. New York’s 0.91 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles of travel is lower than the national average of 1.13. However the traffic fatality rate on New York’s non-Interstate rural roads was more than two-and-a-half times higher than the 0.68 traffic fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles of travel on all other roads in the state.
• The Federal Highway Trust Fund is predicted to run out of money and go below $1 billion next year.
• whether it’s raise gas taxes, start a [vehicles miles traveled tax], or get money from the general federal funds to help improve these conditions.
• The average Highway construction worker earns $ 19.46/hour in New York State
• On Wednesday, President Barack Obama proposed a $302 billion, four-year transportation reauthorization bill that aims to avoid the Highway Trust Fund’s impending insolvency. It aims to deliver on some of the infrastructure improvements he promised during the 2013 State of the Union address. It includes $206 billion in highway investment, with $199 billion in highway funding and $7 billion in highway safety improvements. The $199 billion represents a 22% increase in annual funding over the current bill. The funding would address the insolvency of the fund for at least 4 years, according to the White House.

In all fairness, lets not forget that many TRIP members would be the primary fiscal beneficiaries of major Federally funded road construction projects: TRIP is sponsored by insurance companies, equipment manufacturers, distributors and suppliers, businesses involved in highway and transit engineering and construction, labor unions, and organizations concerned with an efficient and safe surface transportation network. Some would argue that there are rampant abuses within this industry when it comes to billing for Federal funding and it seems that many road projects are delayed with huge cost over-runs. So is this report designed to benefit a few at the expense of all by sounding a bit extreme, or is it factual and un-biased? A trip through Manhattan may answer this question.