“The Fine Print”, by Michael Schrader

Want Good Roads? You Have To Pay For Them

Written 08 May 2014 (never published)

There have been many opinions given about the sad state of our streets and highways, why they are in such bad shape, who is responsible, and what to do about them. The state has been blamed; the contractors have been blamed; the engineers have been blamed; everyone has been blamed but the people who actually are to blame – the taxpayers. Drivers who want to complain about the streets need only to look at themselves in the mirror to assess responsibility and who has the power to correct the problem.

We have had it pounded into our collective heads by certain politicians that the government is bad, and that taxes are bad because they support the government. Who is responsible for building the roads? The government. How does the government fund the roads? Through taxes. Cut taxes, and you cut funding for the roads; it is a simple as that. If you want good quality roads that will last, you have to provide the government enough money to not only build them, but to maintain them. It doesn’t matter how good of a road you build, if you don’t maintain them properly, they will not last. When you buy a car, the manufacturer expects you to perform routine maintenance, or the warranty is void. Why should Ford be responsible for an engine failure if the owner did not maintain it properly?

Same goes for the roads. Suppose that the contractor has to warranty the road for say, ten years. If the road isn’t maintained properly, how is it the contractor’s fault if it fails in five? Is the failure due to poor construction or the lack of maintenance? Same holds true for the suggestion that the engineer should be held liable for premature failure. If what the engineer designed is not maintained properly, how is it the engineer’s fault if it fails? As an engineer, I would never warranty my design, as I cannot control the materials, construction, or maintenance of my design.

If people want good roads, then the people need to be willing to pay for them, either in taxes or tolls. When I design something for a client, I am limited to the budget that that client has for the project. Let’s say, for example, the city has a million dollars for road improvements. With that money, they can build a half-mile of concrete street, overlay five miles of street, or patch and seal twenty miles. Which do you think they will choose? The option that provides the most mileage provides the shortest service life, and vice versa.

There is a common misconception that the government wastes tons of money. You will find some waste, as in any organization, but, percentagewise, very little is wasted. I spent the better part of 25 years working in the public sector in seven different states, and most agencies are surprisingly efficient with resources. Don’t be fooled by the anti-government, tax-cutting demagogues.

The solution to the bad roads problem is this- fund the road-building agencies. It is up to you.

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