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Wednesday, March 16, 2016 1:12 am
Study: 27% of city's roads in poor condition
| Washington editor
Fort Wayne’s major roads and highways are in worse shape than those in Indianapolis and South Bend, according to a nonprofit transportation research group.
Fort Wayne government officials doubted the findings of the report released Thursday by Washington, D.C.-based TRIP. They contend the study does not contain pavement data on streets maintained by the city government.
TRIP’s report rates the condition of "major urban roads" in U.S. metropolitan areas with at least 250,000 residents. Fort Wayne apparently is pretty average: 27 percent of its roads are considered in poor condition, compared with a national urban average of 28 percent.
TRIP assigned its ratings – poor, mediocre, fair and good – based on a 2013 survey of state transportation officials conducted by the Federal Highway Administration. That survey used an international pavement roughness index that measures road vibration levels.
Only 15 percent of South Bend roads and 17 percent of Indianapolis roads were in poor condition in 2013, TRIP said. The report found that 48 percent of South Bend roads and 42 percent of Indianapolis roads were in good condition, compared with 21 percent of Fort Wayne roads.
The report shows far larger discrepancies among other urban areas that share a climate and state highway department. For example, 52 percent of Cleveland’s roads are poor, but just 9 percent are substandard in the nearby Ohio metro area of Lorain and Elyria. At least 40 percent of the roads are bad in 10 California cities, yet only 7 percent are poor in Bakersfield.
Rocky Moretti, the author of TRIP’s report, said such variations are likely the result of differences in road use and local government funding.
"Potentially, between urban areas that often times have several local jurisdictions, the level of investment could be quite different," Moretti said during a conference call with reporters.
But Bob Kennedy, director of Fort Wayne’s Public Works Division, and Frank Suarez, Public Works spokesman, said later that TRIP likely was using only pavement data on state-maintained highways that run through Fort Wayne, including Coliseum Boulevard, Lafayette and Clinton streets and Lima Road.
"We’ve invested more in this transportation system than anyone probably in the Midwest in the last few years," Kennedy said in a telephone interview. "We put $20 million in roads last year and this year again. You talk to the contractors: There’s not work being done in cities like in Fort Wayne."
Kennedy said the city has "made huge investments in our infrastructure" since 2000.
TRIP’s report states that the Federal Highway Administration data include "condition data for roads that are maintained by federal, state or local governments." It also states that the data were for "all arterial routes, which includes a wide range of highways and roadways, including Interstates, limited-access freeways, city streets and routes that may be two or more lanes."
"So when we look at the numbers, in this case for Fort Wayne, we can’t tell what share of that is state maintained and what share is locally maintained," Moretti, director of policy and research for TRIP, said in a later phone interview.
Indiana Department of Transportation spokesman Will Wingfield said the state collects statistical samples on road conditions for the Federal Highway Administration.
"In general across the state, in order to obtain that statistical sample, we do have to collect information from local roads as well," he said.
Wingfield said TRIP’s data are already out of date.
"That snapshot is the most recent information, but it is a bit old due to the time frame involved for the reporting information," he said. "That is reflective of what happened in 2013, not necessarily the way the system is today."
He said INDOT repairs roads "based upon where there is the greatest need" and "is doing more preventative maintenance projects so we can keep the pavement in good condition for as long as possible."
California cities and cold-weather urban areas tend to have the highest percentages of poor roads, according to TRIP. Cities with the lowest percentages are in Sun Belt states, particularly Florida, where road-damaging freeze-thaw cycles are rarer occurrences.
Cold weather "is certainly a significant factor" in pavement wear and tear, Moretti said.
TRIP’s report coincides with congressional debate over reauthorizing the highway funding bill, which expires July 31. The Senate is considering a six-year bill, while the House has passed legislation that extends funding only through December.
Janet Kavinoky, executive director for transportation and infrastructure for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said during Thursday’s conference call that the Chamber favors long-term legislation "that will finally end the series of short-term extensions and patches that we’ve had for the Highway Trust Fund so that states and local governments can make real commitments to improving the condition and performance of their transportation system."
Jill Ingrassia, managing director of government relations and traffic safety advocacy for AAA, said that "more needs to be done to secure predictable and stable funding for our country’s roads and bridges."
"More potholes, more unsafe road conditions will only result in diminished safety and diminished quality of life for all Americans," Ingrassia said.
The TRIP report found the urban areas with the largest percentages of bad roads were San Francisco-Oakland, 74 percent; Los Angeles, 73 percent; and Concord, California, 62 percent. No roads in Kissimmee, Florida, were rated as poor.
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