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NATION’S
MOST WASTEFUL ROAD PROJECTS ANNOUNCED BY TAXPAYERS FOR
COMMON SENSE AND FRIENDS OF THE EARTH Washington, D.C. - An alarming number of new road projects are about to run over Vice President Al Gore’s anti-sprawl agenda, according to a new report by Taxpayers for Common Sense (TCS) and Friends of the Earth (FOE). The report, Road to Ruin, identifies the 50 most wasteful highway projects in the country and, for the first time, ranks the ten worst. The Road to Ruin report illustrates how taxpayer-financed road projects increase sprawl development, hurt businesses and harm the environment. All the roads listed in the report are in early stages of development and many have already received federal money. "Taxpayer money is being hijacked for unneeded roads that cause sprawl, damage the environment and hurt local communities," said Ralph DeGennaro, Executive Director of Taxpayers for Common Sense, "It’s not too late to stop these roads from wasting $17 billion in federal taxpayer money." Today, Taxpayers for Common Sense and Friends of the Earth called on state and federal transportation officials to protect communities by stopping these projects as proposed and looking for cheaper alternatives, including no project at all. The report also highlights more than 10 national parks and other protected lands that would be negatively impacted by the roads in the report including Denali National Park and the only coral reef in the continental U.S. "We are destroying some of the most pristine wilderness in this country for outdated, short-term solutions that don’t solve traffic problems," said Brent Blackwelder, President of Friends of the Earth. The large influx of new road building comes from the passage of last year’s federal transportation bill, the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21). TEA-21 guarantees a 47% increase in highway funding over the next five years, which means a massive dumping of new money into highway construction. This new spending will make it possible to build the roads highlighted in Road to Ruin, although many have been buried within state planning books for decades. The 50 worst projects named in the report are located in 26 states. The state of Michigan leads the list with five wasteful road projects. Pennsylvania and Virginia have four each, and California has three. The Road to Ruin report examines the most wasteful roads in America, ranks the top 10 that are the most serious threat to taxpayers and communities and summarizes why each road is unneeded and wasteful. The 50 road projects in the report were all nominated by local citizen organizations and individuals, then researched by Taxpayers for Common Sense and Friends of the Earth staff. The Road to Ruin Top10 was selected by ranking the roads by cost to the taxpayers, impact on the environment and whether they induce sprawl. TOP 10 WORST ROADS IN AMERICA 1) Corridor H in West Virginia was originally proposed in 1966 and would cost over a billion dollars to build. It would cut through a national forest and fragment one of the largest roadless areas on the east coast. The road would also bulldoze historic Civil War battlefields. 2) Stillwater Bridge in Minnesota is an oversized bridge that would cost over $120 million and harm the St. Croix River, a congressionally designated Wild and Scenic River. The bridge would also increase sprawl into neighboring Wisconsin. 3) Route 710 Highway in California would cost over $311 million per mile to build, raze 1,300 homes and businesses, destroy 70 historic properties and worsen serious air quality problems. 4) I-69 Highway Extension in Indiana would cost over $1.1 billion to build. Compared to upgrading existing roads, I-69 would cost $600 million more to build, while only saving 10 minutes in travel time. It would also destroy 5,000 acres of farmland and forests. 5) Grand Parkway in Texas would cost federal taxpayers $1.8 billion. In addition to being a redundant fourth loop around Houston, the Grand Parkway would slice through a number of state parks, increase sprawl and worsen air quality in the region. 6) U.S. 1 in Florida is a 20-mile project in the Florida Keys that would cost federal taxpayers $136 million and negatively impact the only coral reef in the continental U.S., as well as Everglades National Park. U.S. 1 would induce sprawl in the Upper Keys and make hurricane evacuations more difficult. 7) U.S. 23 in Michigan would cost federal taxpayers over $640 million to build. It would also force a record loss of wetlands in Michigan. This project would duplicate an existing road that is already being widened to four lanes, increase sprawl and destroy valuable farmland. 8) Denali National Park Second Access Road in Alaska is an $80 million road proposal that would duplicate an existing road and run through the pristine Denali National Park, one of the nation’s premiere national parks. 9) Western Transportation Corridor in Virginia is estimated to cost between $1 billion and $1.5 billion. The proposed project would encourage sprawl and traffic while exposing rural areas to increased development. 10) Legacy Highway in Utah would cost the federal taxpayer over $1.4 billion. This highway would duplicate a road that is currently being widened, destroy countless acres of farmland and increase sprawl development. This proposed road would also cut through a Western Hemispheric Shorebird Reserve Network Site that millions of shorebirds depend on for secure and pristine wetlands. Road to Ruin is being released at over 30 press events throughout the country and is available on the Taxpayer for Common Sense website at www.taxpayer.net. ###
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