Delays can be costly. New York had an opportunity to repair and extend the Tappan Zee Bridge’s life span. However, by the time state officials finally made a decision about the bridge, it had deteriorated so badly that the state had no choice but to replace it. Some bridges, like the Golden Gate Bridge and the Brooklyn Bridge, are expected to stand for centuries. But the Tappan Zee needs to be replaced before its 62nd birthday because New York cut costs by minimizing the use of steel when it was first built and then allowing roadway salt to corrode it. A few years ago, New York was forced to spend $300 million replacing the bridge’s deck—even though it was hoping to tear the whole thing down—because five-foot-wide holes started opening up along the span.

In 2012, after more than 30 years of planning and more than 400 public meetings and $100 million spent on studies, Governor Andrew Cuomo finalized the state’s plans to replace the Tappan Zee. Cuomo also decided to abandon the idea of building a rail line along the bridge, but by that time it was too late to save one of the nation’s most important infrastructure projects.

While New York was quixotically pursuing its rail project, New Jersey had obtained $3 billion in federal aid to build a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River, about 20 miles south of the Tappan Zee. This interstate tunnel was expected to serve 10 times as many passengers as a Tappan Zee rail line and it would have vastly improved train services into Manhattan for both Amtrak and New Jersey Transit.

New York decided not to support New Jersey’s efforts because it saw the project as competition for a Tappan Zee rail line. As a result, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie canceled the tunnel project in 2010; he did not want to raise gax taxes and have his state pay a disproportionate share of the cost. This summer, as train service was repeatedly delayed for tens of thousands of train riders because of problems in the century-old train tunnels, the federal transportation secretary remarked that neglecting to repair and supplement them was “almost criminal.”

New York isn’t a special case. U.S. infrastructure is in need of repair and many elected officials have been loath to raise taxes to reel in the necessary funds. Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota twice vetoed legislation to raise the state’s gas tax that would have been used to repair the state’s aging network of roads and bridges. He agreed to raise the tax only after an interstate highway bridge in downtown Minneapolis collapsed into the Mississippi River, killing 13 people and injuring another 145.

Elected officials do not, typically, focus their attention on maintaining America’s transportation system. That is because politicians get very little credit or political benefit from keeping the underlying infrastructure in a state of good repair. Instead of focusing resources on maintaining the existing highway system, the U.S. spends more than half of its highway budget on expanding it.