ALBANY — Motorists stuck in detours this spring as highway contractors pave and patch Capital Region roads may welcome the improvements.

But those fixes likely won't last, industry observers say.

And as roads deteriorate more quickly than they can be repaved, motorists can expect more flat tires and other problems.

Calls for tire-related issues surged 22 percent from last spring to this, according to figures from AAA Hudson Valley.

A new report, entitled "State Highway Pavements: Are Worsening Conditions on the Horizon?," points to a lengthening paving cycle — the amount of time before a typical road is resurfaced — as a major factor in the overall deterioration of the state's highways.

The report found that the paving cycle was just 8.6 years in 2012, but grew to 22.9 years by 2016, the most recent figure available.

"It keeps getting longer and longer, and it's far longer than the life of any paving material," said Mike Elmendorf, president and CEO of the Associated General Contractors of New York State, which represents the state's major building and highway construction companies. The materials "last a finite and somewhat predictable rate of time."

Contractors are being told to resurface roads with a thinner layer of material. The thinner layer wears out more quickly, Elmendorf said.

"They paved twice as many miles with the same (amount of) material," he said Wednesday afternoon. "It's not the right treatment."

Elmendorf said the state Department of Transportation "does the best they can with what they have." But he says "there's not enough resources" to do what's needed.

The New York Works program in 2012 targeted infrastructure improvements, including road and bridge repairs. That year, the state's paving program totaled $614 million. But it dropped back to $317 million the following year and rose no higher than $394 million in 2015, according to the report.

But state DOT spokesman Curtis Jetter said programs like PAVE-NY, which provides $100 million a year to localities for road projects, and BridgeNY, which is providing $200 million for bridge and culvert work, have "ensure(d) essential infrastructure is rehabilitated in a timely manner."

Jetter also said Gov. Andrew Cuomo had announced $100 million in state funding to fix roads damaged by this past winter's harsh weather.

Elmendorf said the $100 million in additional money was "great."

Infrastructure has received more attention in the wake of the Trump administration's push for a massive trillion-dollar spending program, although so far federal funding hasn't materialized. The burden remains on the states.

"AAA Hudson Valley agrees that maintaining New York State's roadway infrastructure is vital to our state's economy, and the safety of our members as part of the motoring public," spokeswoman Tara Ricard said. "Deteriorating roadways cause unnecessary vehicle damage and potential collisions."

Delaying road maintenance often requires more expensive rebuilding of the roadway, Elmendorf said.

The report on the state's highways was written by John J. Shufon, a 35-year veteran of the state Department of Transportation who became the DOT's first pavement manager in 1991. He retired in 2006.

The report was commissioned by Rebuild NY Now, a business group that advocates for public infrastructure spending.