Minnesota’s legislative session begins tomorrow and, like many states throughout the union, front and center on the agenda is transportation spending. From this weekend’s edition of the Star Tribune:

"Anybody who travels around the state knows our highways are in worse condition, our traffic congestion is getting worse, public transit is far behind other parts of the country and world in terms of its adequacy and efficiency,” [Minnesota Governor Mark] Dayton said in an interview. “I can guarantee that if we don’t make it better, it’s going to continue to get worse.”

Making it “better” means, of course, spending more money. There is no talk of reform. There is nobody really asking how we got in such a difficult financial situation. The only question under consideration is the one I outlined in my latest book, A World Class Transportation System: How do we get more money to continue doing more of the same thing?

More is better.

The Star Tribune reported that, “about 1,200 of Minnesota’s more than 20,000 bridges are classified as structurally deficient.” They attributed Transportation for America later in naming the exact number: 1,191. The 2013 Transportation for America bridge report was an update of a 2011 report on the same topic. While the 2013 update didn’t include the cost of repairs, the 2011 report did.

T4A indicated in 2011 that the cost to repair Minnesota's structurally-deficient bridges was $500 million. That’s a lot of money, but these bridges also accommodate a combined 2.3 million crossings per day.

Contrast that with the new bridge over the St. Croix River that is currently under construction. At somewhere around $600 million, it will carry a projected 16,000 cars per day. You can use the project webcam to watch your money being spent.

Maintain 1,191 existing bridges: $500 million. Build one new bridge: $600 million. The former is a crisis while the latter a destiny.

This is just one specific example of a fact that was captured exquisitely in a graphic that went along with the Star Tribune story. As you look at this, keep in mind that the problem we are being told we have is insufficient money to maintain everything we have built. As our state’s version of a transportation advocacy organization, Move MN, has said, we are the “Land of 10 million potholes”. Well, here's how we prioritize maintenance.