Eideard

Two-thirds of the country lives in large metropolitan areas, home to the nation’s worst traffic jams and some of its oldest roads and bridges. But cities and their surrounding regions are getting far less than two-thirds of federal transportation stimulus money.

This is where tears are supposed to well up into your eyes.

According to an analysis by The New York Times of 5,274 transportation projects approved so far — the most complete look yet at how states plan to spend their stimulus money — the 100 largest metropolitan areas are getting less than half the money from the biggest pot of transportation stimulus money. In many cases, they have lost a tug of war with state lawmakers that urban advocates say could hurt the nation’s economic engines.

Don’t state lawmakers represent the whole state? Will they be replaced en masse for not favoring cities?

RTFA and you’ll learn those interviewed for this article oppose the concept of spreading the money throughout each state. For whatever their reasons.

The Times analysis shows that a little more than half of the stimulus money will be spent on “pavement improvement” projects, mostly repaving rutted and potholed roads. Nearly one-tenth of it will be spent to fix or replace bridges. More than a quarter of the money will be spent to widen roads or build new roads or bridges.

Professor Gutfreund came up about the dumbest analysis I’ve ever seen when he criticized “formulas that give priority to state-owned roads, often found far outside of urban areas”. Does this guy drive anywhere? State roads connect cities, connect other roads. I guess you could whine about most of each road being outside of cities; but, then, isn’t that why they’re called “highways”?

Cripes! Most of all roads are built outside cities – excepting city streets.