The Federal Highway Administration just announced an incredible 28 percent
of U.S. bridges are either in need of repair, unable to adequately handle
traffic loads or fail safety standards. The good news is that the deficiency
percentage a decade ago was 34 percent. But that still leaves 163,010
unsafe spans today.
Consider that statistic as you begin your Summer vacation. Our nation's
capital has two-thirds of its bridges listed as failing, including the
Benning Road/Anacostia River bridge that handles 68,400 vehicles per
day. Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Hawaii and Puerto Rico have half or
more of their spans rated deficient. Maryland and Kansas, citing budget
problems, have even diverted funds from repairs to "more pressing"
social problems. One would think even poor people would not want their
bridge spans to collapse but perhaps that does not rate as compassionate
conservatism.
Believe it or not the national government is taking credit for the situation,
at least the decrease in the percentage of deficient bridges. One Congressional
staffer boasted, "There's no question that the previous two highway
bills played a vital role in beginning to address the problem,"
although he conceded the remaining deficiencies were "alarming."
Yet, if the national role was critical, why is there such discrepancy
among the states? A national program should bring all states up at a
similar rate. In nine states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico,
the number of deficient bridges actually increased over the past decade,
led by Rhode Island and New Mexico's increase of 18 percent and Alaska's
increase of 47 percent. On the other hand, New York decreased its unsafe
spans by 43 percent after ten people died in a 1987 collapse. Contrary
to the Federal bragging, states and localities are the key players.
President George Bush called for a 13 percent increase in highway funds
and Congress is considering an increase in the gasoline tax to appropriate
even more. As in most serious matters, however, just waving Washington's
magic wand will not solve the problem. The amount of funds doled to
states has almost no correlation with increased bridge safety. Indeed,
the national highway system and the state bridge system have almost
exactly the same deficiency rates. Federal aid does not make a difference
for safety. While the number of national highway system bridge deficiencies
was reduced by 9,620, the state systems declined by 26,460.
As far back as Adam Smith over two centuries ago, it was recognized
that local and regional governments should maintain roads because someone
can be held responsible, and they are too close to pass the buck. Indeed,
the rise in unsafe bridges may be partially the result of state centralization
from the county level over the years. But who holds the FAA responsible
when a bridge span falls? No one, and that is just how the highway bureaucrats
like it. They and the ribbon-cutting Congressmen get the credit and
none of the blame.
State highway officials do get blamed, although they manipulate responsibility
too. If a span drops, they complain the Feds did not give them enough
money or say it was the county's job. Today's national-state-local mish-mash
of rule-making and funding guarantees that no one is responsible for
the unglamorous job of repair and that is why tens of thousands of bridges
are still unsafe today. Congress could double the gas tax and it would
go to beautiful new roads and bridges not un-sexy bridge repair.
The only solution is for all of the responsibility for building and
maintaining bridges to be made local so that voters can order one official
close to them to remedy this preposterous situation. Additionally, if
the bridges were constructed and maintained privately and local governments
supervised safety, there would not be a conflict of interest between
regulators and builders as there is when the government performs both
functions.
Unfortunately, a rational reallocation of road and bridge building responsibilities
is a long way off, although private roads and bridges have begun a modest
comeback. The obstacle is that most Congressmen cannot resist logrolling
legislative favors to win some local pork project and then running before
a camera to take credit for giving their own money back to their fellow
local citizens, who pay all national taxes. Next time you see the colorful
photo on TV or in print, remember the cost of this political con game
is unsafe highway bridges.
Donald
Devine, former director Of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, is
a columnist and a Washington-based policy consultant and a Vice Chairman
for the American Conservative Union.
