5 April 2000

Deb Riechmann - Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- One of every three miles of major roads in the nation's biggest cities has potholes, ruts or other problems that cost motorists an average of $142 a year in automobile wear and tear, says a study by a group financed primarily by the highway construction industry.

Motorists driving on bad roads use more gasoline and spend more money on wheel alignments, shock absorbers and tires, according to the study recently released by The Road Information Program.

"Motorists in our nation's largest cities are paying a hidden tax to drive on substandard roads," said William Wilkins, director of TRIP. "That hidden tax is much more costly to motorists than the amount they would save through a 4.3-cent-per-gallon cut in the federal gasoline tax."

The Republicans on Capitol Hill have been trying to relieve some of motorists' pain at the pump by
temporarily repealing the federal tax on gasoline. Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., struggled last week to gain the 60 votes necessary to overcome bipartisan opposition to the legislation, which would eliminate the 4.3-cent-a-gallon tax for the rest of the year and suspend the entire 18.4-cent federal gas tax until January if gas prices top $2 a gallon.

Road builders and others are worried about the impact on highway, bridge and transit projects that depend on the tax.

Using data from the Federal Highway Administration, the report said one-third of the 850,000 miles of urban roadways in the 50 largest metropolitan areas are in poor or mediocre condition and need immediate repair. One-third were in fair condition; one-third in good condition.

While these urban routes account for only 22 percent of the nation's total road network, they represent 61 percent of the 2.6 trillion miles driven annually in the nation, the report said.

The Surface Transportation Policy Project, a nonprofit group that calls for a more diversified transportation system, said that while TRIP's report highlights bad roads, states -- at the urging of the road construction lobby -- often spend federal money on new roads, not repairs.

According to the project, the percentage that the states are spending to fix roads fell 3 percent between 1998 and 1999.