Report: Bad Roads Cost Motorists Big Bucks

The average Little Rock motorist pays $1,674 annually because of deficient roads and bridges, the national transportation group TRIP asserted in a press conference at the state Capitol Tuesday.

Those extra expenses come from higher vehicle operating costs, crashes and congestion delays, according to a study performed by the group. The study reported that Arkansas motorists statewide pay an estimated $2 billion annually because of those conditions.

The study was released during a press conference at the Capitol Tuesday by Rocky Morietti, TRIP director of policy and research. Also participating were Scott Bennett, director of the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department, and four members of the Arkansas Highway Commission, including Robert Moore, a former Arkansas speaker of the House.

The study reported that Arkansas roadway conditions cause vehicle operating costs to rise $902 per Little Rock motorist and $1.1 billion for the entire state, while safety-related costs rise $227 per Little Rock motorist and $698 million statewide. Congestion-related expenses cost the state $250 million.

Little Rock motorists lose $545 each and spend 26 hours a year stuck in traffic, the study reported, citing data from the Texas Transportation Institute.

The study said there are about 2.2 million licensed drivers in Arkansas. Vehicle miles traveled have increased from 21 billion in 1990 to 33.5 billion in 2012 – a 60 percent jump – and will increase another 30 percent by 2030.

Congress must write a new transportation funding bill or extend the current act before it expires May 31. Transportation advocates hope the legislation will address funding shortfalls caused by a decline in revenues from federal motor fuels taxes that have not increased since 1993. Because of uncertainty regarding federal funding, the Highway Department recently suspended three highway projects.

Moore said in the press conference that highways enjoy broad support. Unlike other state issues, the number of problems solved can be tied directly to how much money is spent, he said.

“The bottom line is that highway construction costs, new construction, maintenance costs continue to go up, and revenues to fund those costs continue to come down, and the twain shall not meet,” he said.

But additional money may be hard to find in the upcoming legislative session.

The topic was discussed during a forum Tuesday sponsored by the Arkansas Associated Press Managing Editors. Gov.-elect Asa Hutchinson said he would not propose a highway funding plan in the regular session, citing a need for a consensus between economic developers, higher education and the highway industry. Senate President Pro Tempore Jonathan Dismang, R-Searcy, pointed to the half-cent sales tax Arkansas voters enacted in 2012 to fund the Connecting Arkansas Program, a highway construction program.

“I think that the people back home feel like that was a reasonable amount to have to put towards highways, and I’m not sure how much more they would be willing to give,” he said. “And also I’m not sure how much G.R., or general revenue, can be allocated back towards the Highway Department.”

The TRIP study, “Arkansas Transportation by the Numbers: Meeting the State’s Need for Safe and Efficient Mobility,” said that increased transportation investment could create safer roads. The study reported that 2,849 people died on Arkansas roadways between 2008-12. The state’s fatality rate of 1.65 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles of travel in 2012 was the nation’s fifth highest and compared to a national rate of 1.13 deaths. The problem was worse on non-interstate rural roads, where the rate of 2.71 deaths was more than three times the .87 death rate on the state’s other roadways.

The study reported that 32 percent of Arkansas’ major locally and state-maintained urban roads are in poor condition, while 42 percent are rated mediocre or fair, and 26 percent are rated as good. Twenty-three percent of major rural roads are in poor condition, while 46 percent are considered mediocre or fair and 31 percent are rated as good. More than three-fourths of major roads in the Little Rock area are deteriorated – 53 percent are rated poor, and only 9 percent are in good condition, the report says.

Meanwhile, 7 percent of the state’s bridges are structurally deficient and have significant deterioration, while 16 percent are functionally obsolete, which means they don’t meet modern design standards because of narrow lanes or other features.

TRIP is a private, nonprofit organization that researches transportation data and promotes pro-transportation policies. According to its website, the group’s sponsors include insurance companies, equipment manufacturers and suppliers, highway construction-related businesses, labor unions, and pro-transportation organizations.