Trends in the performance of the states' highways and bridges over the period 1991-1997 are reviewed, by state and functional class. The basis for the analysis is the data submitted annually by the states to the federal government on road condition and congestion (the Highway Performance Monitoring System), and special tabulations from the National Bridge Inventory. The effects of numerous errors and inconsistencies in the reporting of highway data are considered, and are found to substantially cloud the trends. Nevertheless, the data show that Interstate and rural primary road conditions have improved overall during the ISTEA years, but that some states made considerable progress while others lost ground. Urban congestion has probably worsened overall. Bridge conditions have generally improved in all classifications, but the gap between the condition of higher-class bridges and lower-classification bridges is substantial. The paper concludes that the effect of the 25% increase in ISTEA funding was modest overall system improvement, but that the gaps between states and road classifications in terms of performance is very substantial. The US highway system is in danger of evolving into a high-quality system for some states and road classes, and a lower quality system for others.The report calls for an immediate careful rational assessment of system performance trends, immediate promulgation of uniform data collection, and allocation of some portions of federal funds on the basis of condition and performance. (A)
Samenvatting