Recent Streetsblog USA posts about State DOTs

Highway Boondoggles: Washington’s Puget Sound Gateway Project

By John Olivieri and Jeff Inglis | Jan 27, 2016 | 1 Comment

In a new report, Highway Boondoggles 2, U.S. PIRG and the Frontier Group profile the most wasteful highway projects that state DOTs are building. Today we look at a classic — Washington’s $3 billion “Puget Sound Gateway Project.” Washington plans to spend billions on the Puget Sound Gateway project to “relieve congestion,” but if anything the project will increase it. […]

5 Things States Can Do to Bring Transportation Policy Out of the Stone Age

By Angie Schmitt | Jan 22, 2016 | 6 Comments

On its page commemorating the 50th anniversary of President Eisenhower signing the Federal Aid Highway Act, the Federal Highway Administration offers a “Then and Now” chart showing how much America has changed since 1956. It’s a little corny, but in 1956 Chuck Berry was a chart-topper, hula hoops were the new craze, and Cold War tensions were very high. The […]

Advice for State DOTs Looking for More Money: Spend Smarter

By Angie Schmitt | Nov 30, 2015 | No Comments

The Oregon Department of Transportation is in a tough spot after it tried to justify highway expansion projects by saying they would cut greenhouse gas emissions. ODOT’s bogus claims helped sink a $350 million transportation funding package in the state legislature, and even some of the state’s Republican lawmakers are calling for agency director Matt Garrett’s head. What’s a beleaguered […]

3 Reasons Politicians Like Building New Roads More Than Fixing Old Ones

By Angie Schmitt | Sep 1, 2015 | 7 Comments

American transportation policy places a premium on delivering big, shiny new things. As much as the big state transportation agencies and their political bosses love pouring concrete, they tend to avoid keeping the things they build in good working condition. Many state DOTs still spend upwards of 90 percent of their annual budgets on new construction, according […]

Biking and Walking Get About as Much Research Funding as Chicken Trucks

By Angie Schmitt | May 12, 2015 | 8 Comments

When traffic engineers don’t want to install protected bike lanes, they’ll often say that more research is needed to prove their safety (because any results from outside America don’t count, of course). But then when opportunities arise to study the safety of protected bike lanes, the engineering establishment doesn’t take advantage. And so the cycle […]

You Can Help Make State DOTs Accountable for How They Spend

By Angie Schmitt | Apr 27, 2015 | 2 Comments

Pressure is mounting on the president and Congress to keep roads and bridges from falling apart by increasing transportation funding. But a big part of the problem is states, which receive the lion’s share of federal transportation funds but opt to spend most on new roads, instead of maintaining existing infrastructure. Between 2009 and 2011, states spent just […]

Show More Stories