Indiana bridges failing in comparison to Illinois bridges

The Northwest Indiana Times analyzed federal inspection records for 771 elevated road bridges in Lake and Porter counties (Ind.). They found "that as of 2003, 27 percent were either structurally deficient or unable to accommodate rising traffic loads because of size constraints or outdated design." Using data from the U.S. Department of Transportation's 2003 bridge inventory they found that "47 bridges had sufficiency ratings of 50 or less, which means they're eligible for federal replacement funds." The Times review of Illinois bridges found a much lower percentage of deficient bridges.

Scott Powers of The Orlando Sentinel used county traffic ticket data to show that "last year Florida Highway Patrol troopers, Orange County deputies and police ticketed 342 high rollers for driving at least 100 mph." Those who are caught typically are young, white men and many were traveling on the Central Florida GreeneWay. "And though the penalty for a 100-mph speeding ticket normally includes a stiff fine of $305, the vast majority of high rollers last year avoided getting traffic-violation points attached to their license records, usually by attending traffic school. Officially they are not convicted, so their insurance companies cannot raise their premiums."

Lee Davidson of The Deseret Morning News used federal data to review deficient bridges in Utah. "Federal data, based on state inspections, show that 256 bridges in Utah were considered structurally deficient in 2004. Another 250 were functionally obsolete." Despite the high number of deficiencies, Utah's bridges are rated Ninth best among states, federal data shows.

Ginny MacDonald and Brett J. Blackledge of The Birmingham News used federal data to show that "thousands of big trucks travel Alabama's highways with bad brakes, bad tires and bad drivers ... Many of those dangerous trucks in recent years have been involved in accidents that have killed hundreds, injured thousands and cost millions in highway repairs." The state has many fewer inspectors than other states, and nearly one in three stops in 2003 resulted in yielded a condition "so serious that officers wouldn't let them back on the road until the problem was fixed."

Steve Lackmeyer and John Perry of The Oklahoman used state and federal data to find that "fixing Oklahoma's bridges — the nation's worst — would cost taxpayers billions of dollars. All proposed remedies fall woefully short." The state has had the highest percentage of structurally deficient bridges for at least three years. The bulk of such bridges are owned and maintained by county governments, which receive fuel tax revenues from the state for repair and upkeep. "Oklahoma has 140 bridges more than 80 years old. With the current funding structure, the agency can only replace about 324 bridges over the next decade. By that time, the state will have another 800 bridges more than 80 years old. The state has 199 highway bridges with either wooden structures or decking."

Kimball Payne and Bob Evans of the Hampton Daily Press uses a large number of documents, maps and thousands of e-mails to investigate a federal highway project that is projected to be completed two years past the original completion date and have an added cost of twice what the Virginia Department of Transportation had projected. "E.V. Williams has already been paid $25.9 million more than its original bid of $64.7 million. By the end, VDOT estimates the added costs will double, creating a 77 percent overrun." The series is divided into eight sections: Money, Design, Delays, Infighting, Contract, Bridge, Magruder and Next. A timeline detailing "The roadmap to chaos" is also included with the piece.

Eric Eyre and Scott Finn of the Charleston Gazette obtained flight records showing that West Virginia homeland security chief Neal Sharp "flew on the state plane or helicopter to attend meetings, scout disaster training sites and inspect emergency equipment" nineteen times in 19 months and chartered five additional private flights, prompting a state investigation. "All told, Sharp's agency was charged for 26 trips on state aircraft and chartered planes. The flights cost more than $60,000."

R. Jeffrey Smith and Derek Willis from The Washington Post analyzed federal campaign expenditure records to find that top congressional leaders "flew on corporate-owned jets at least 360 times from January 2001 to December 2004." Members of both parties took part in the practice, although leading Republicans flew more often than Democrats. "The records show that flights were provided by some of Washington's largest corporate interests, including tobacco, telecommunications, business consulting, securities, air transport, insurance, pharmaceutical, railroad and food companies."

Rob Gebeloff and Joe Malinconico of The (Newark) Star-Ledger analyzed state data to find that while New Jersey Transit's overall on-time performance is close to 95 percent, "on-time rates for dozens of rush-hour trains are twice as bad as the overall average." The paper's analysis also showed that "on the Northeast Corridor, one of every six trains during the morning rush hour ran late. In contrast, the Bergen County Line missed the on-time mark by just one out of every 32 trains."

Tim Smith of The Greenville News used state records to show that "relatives of two South Carolina Department of Transportation commissioners have been hired at the agency, but the board members said there was nothing improper about their employment." The two relatives are part-time employees, but one has worked for the agency since 1999 and earns about $50,000 a year for her 20-hour-a-week position helping direct a training program. The paper used the state's Freedom of Information Act to obtain the records.