AK: Silt sinking 2-year-old highway
A quarter-mile segment of the Glenn Highway near Sutton, AK - which was rebuilt two years ago - is starting to crack and show damage, The Anchorage Daily News reported Dec. 16. A slumping embankment has given way under the road, leading to cracks in the pavement that in some cases run hundreds of feet. Residents say a contractor used inadequate fill under the road, dumping trees and silt from an adjoining hillside into the roadbed and onto the embankment. State officials say the problem is caused by a weak silt layer that lies under the work that was done to build the road. The state Department of Transportation estimates it will cost about $1.2 million to fix the road.

CO: Official wants transit cash back in highways
Colorado may redirect mass transit money back to highway work, The Rocky Mountain News reported Dec. 16. John Andrews, who will soon take over as president of the state's Senate, wants to undo a compromise on transportation funding from the last session that moved money into mass transit. "People sitting in traffic because of inadequate road systems are not going to have their problems solved by building a train alongside them," Andrews told The News.

MN: Highway Helper may help no more
The Highway Helper - a service that helps stranded motorists along busy freeways in Minnesota, keeping traffic flowing - may soon see its last flat tire, The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported Dec. 15. The state is considering ending the program to save $1 million a year, which would be used to help deal with a $4.5 billion state budget deficit. The state's DOT says accidents, stalls and debris cause about half of the traffic congestion on Twin Cities freeways. "We know that Highway Helpers prevent congestion and prevent secondary crashes," MnDOT traffic engineer Sue Groth told The Star-Tribune.

OH: No cash for new highways
No money will be set aside for new road projects in Ohio for a second year, The Akron Beacon Journal reported Dec. 16. The Transportation Review Advisory Council will not vote any money for new construction until Congress passes a highway bill, which it has not yet done. States receive federal highway money through six-year transportation bills. The current bill runs out near the end of 2003. Projects expected to begin construction in 2007-2008 that could be delayed include the Route 8 expressway in northern Summit and the I-77 widening project in Summit County.

OK: Highway projects may be delayed
Twelve highway projects approved by Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating and the state's Legislature - part of a $1 billion federal bond program - may be slowed because Gov.-elect Brad Henry is concerned about leaning too heavily on future federal highway money, The Oklahoma City Oklahoman reported Dec. 16. The projects include the I-44-Broadway Extension interchange in Oklahoma City and the I-44 widening in Tulsa. Roughly $428 million in federal highway money went to the state this past fiscal year. The Oklahoman said Henry was concerned about the state bonding more than 10 percent or 15 percent of the federal highway money it expects to receive. The state Transportation Commission has said it wants to keep the debt service on these federal bonds below one-third of its federal highway money.

VA: One project's shortfall leads to another's delay
A $272 million shortfall in funds designated for projects on U.S. 58 will probably mean a delay in work on I-73 in Virginia, The Associated Press reported Dec. 16. The shortfall at the state's DOT was revealed last week. The state also indefinitely delayed work on all segments of the U.S. 58 project that are not now under way. Most of U.S. 58 has been widened and straightened between Virginia Beach and Stuart in the past 13 years; the cost overrun is related to a segment near Hillsville that is being expanded to four lanes. I-73 - which would run from Detroit to Charleston, SC, and pass through Virginia - is still in the planning stages in Virginia.