Highway Expansion

The House of Representatives is back in town, and its members still don't have a transportation bill. In fact, they probably won't have one for weeks. But two groups holding conferences in Washington this week would be more than happy to help them out in the meantime.

Tomorrow is the last day of 2011, folks. I wish you a Happier New Year than this one was.

Yesterday, we started our year-end 2011 round-up. We lamented transit cuts in places where transit is more important than ever, cheered the successful ballot initiatives that will fund transportation lifelines, took a moment to explore the nuances of some difficult issues, and called out Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin for some hare-brained ideas about the best way to spend money.

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Roads don’t pay for themselves.

You don't need to look too hard to find signs that the ground is shifting when it comes to highway construction. Around the country, state DOTs are running out of money. Headlines ask "Are Freeways Doomed?" Overall vehicle miles traveled are down in the Pacific Northwest.

Last week Streetsblog looked into the suburban real estate moguls who used their public offices to advance the country's largest sprawl project -- Houston's third outerbelt, also known as the Grand Parkway. But even with all the cronyism and self-deal propelling this project forward, just a few months ago it looked like the Grand Parkway had been stopped in its tracks. The money had run out. The public was balking [PDF].

If the U.S. had a national transportation policy, this story of corruption and waste never would have happened.

Last month Streetsblog asked whether President Obama would select transportation projects that reduce congestion, improve air quality, and create jobs when he picked several infrastructure investments, among those recommended by agency officials, to fast-track. The selection of these projects, intended to help spur short-term job creation, could avoid the mistakes of the 2009 stimulus program, which funneled billions to “shovel-ready” projects that will also promote sprawl. Leading up to the announcement, the president’s rhetoric seemed to indicate that the administration would opt for road maintenance and transit projects rather than newer, wider highways.