Report looks at need for road repair.

• Position: News & Numbers - Statistical data

State departments of transportation are spending more money building new roads than maintaining the ones they have, despite the fact that financial liabilities are mounting and conditions are not improving for America's drivers, according to Repair Priorities 2014, the latest report by Smart Growth America and Taxpayers for Common Sense analyzing road conditions and spending priorities in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The update also assesses how these priorities have changed since the release of the first edition in 2011.

Between 2009 and 2011, the latest available data, states collectively spent $20.4 billion annually to build new roadways and add lanes to existing roads. America's state-owned road network grew by 8,822 lane-miles of road during that time, accounting for less than 1 percent of the total in 2011.

During that same time, states spent just $16.5 billion annually repairing and preserving the other 99 percent of the system, although roads across the country were deteriorating. On a scale of good, fair or poor, 21 percent of America's roads were in poor condition in 2011. Just 37 percent of roads were in good condition that year--down from 41 percent in 2008.

These spending decisions come with serious implications for DOT finances and taxpayers. In 2008, states would have needed to spend more than $43...