PROVIDENCE, R.I., Oct. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- The condition of Rhode Island's roads, highways and bridges is likely to worsen unless the state is able to increase transportation investment and close a significant transportation funding shortfall. The state faces a transportation funding shortfall of nearly $1.3 billion through 2013 for needed repairs and improvements to its highway transportation system. If this funding shortfall is not addressed, many critical projects to repair the state's roads and bridges will be left unfunded or unable to proceed, causing further deterioration and hampering economic development.
This is according to a new report released today by TRIP, a national nonprofit transportation research group. The full report is available at http://www.tripnet.org/.
According to the TRIP report, titled "Rhode Island's Crucial Links: The Current Condition and Funding of the State's Roads and Bridges," the state needs a total of $2.76 billion through 2013 to significantly improve road, highway and bridge conditions. However, only $1.47 billion will be available, leaving a shortfall of nearly $1.3 billion for needed improvements to the state's transportation system..
Further compounding Rhode Island's transportation funding shortfall is the escalation of the cost of roadway improvements due to rapid increases in the price of key materials needed for highway and bridge construction. Over the five-year period from August 2003 to August 2008 the average cost of materials used for highway construction, including asphalt, concrete, steel, lumber and diesel, increased by 75 percent.
"Without adequate funding, Rhode Island's transportation system is stuck on a dead-end street," said Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) Director Michael P. Lewis. "A sound infrastructure is crucial to safety, mobility, and economic vitality, especially when what RIDOT does touches everyone."
For more information: http://www.rhodework.com/.
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