Do we spend more money each year building new roads and bridges or repairing and maintaining our existing roads and bridges?
The U.S. spends far more each year repairing and maintaining existing roads and bridges than building new ones, according to the Federal Highway Administration. In 2007, only 27 percent of federal highway funds were invested in new highways and bridges or in projects that added capacity to the highway system. The remaining 73 percent was invested in improvements designed to maintain or preserve existing roads and bridges, such as road reconstruction and resurfacing, bridge replacements or safety improvements. State and local governments also emphasize preservation over new construction. In 2006, the latest year for which the Federal Highway Administration published data, state transportation departments spent a total of $64.7 billion on highway construction and maintenance. Only $17.7 billion, or 27.4 percent, involved constructing new highways or bridges or adding capacity to the system. By contrast, $32.7 billion, or 50.6 percent, was spent on maintenance or preservation construction
