Orange barrels: Road work, federal funds and oversight

For the most part -- we'll temporarily look the other way on the Galena Creek Bridge near Reno and the accompanying Interstate 580 -- the Nevada Department of Transportation has done a decent job getting major projects finished on time and within budget.

For instance, the widening of Interstate 15 north of the Spaghetti Bowl interchange was completed ahead of schedule, and the repaving of the busiest stretch of road in the state -- I-15 between Tropicana Avenue and U.S. Highway 95 -- was finished 10 days earlier than expected this fall.

That isn't always the case elsewhere. And despite the fact that most state highway funding across the country comes from the federal government -- $40 billion last year -- there's precious little Washington can do to punish the worst performers.

But that may finally change.

The Federal Highway Administration reports that from 2001 to 2010, more than half of state road projects throughout the nation ran over budget, and 45 percent were finished behind schedule. Of 21 major highway projects examined by Gannett, USA Today reported this week, about half were finished for a cost within 5 percent of the original contract. The rest went way over.

The Gannett investigation found Washington doesn't pay much attention to whether states use their highway funds efficiently. "The result is a patchwork of planning lapses and design errors that sends some states back for more money again and again," USA Today noted.

Among the worst: Boston's Big Dig project took two decades to complete and was $12 billion over budget by the time it was finished in 2007. Problems still plague the effort.

That Reno highway? It's now set to be finished six months late, next June, and $32 million over budget after some of the rock the contractor hoped to use for road material was deemed unsuitable. The highway administration "concluded the state failed to adequately study the area's geology," Gannett found, "but still covered 90 percent of the added cost."

While NDOT's overall record seems positive, in the future that type of mistake could be even more costly. A group of House Democrats wants to tie highway funding to good project management and publicize the record of states in carrying out federally funded projects. It's a good idea -- and has piqued the interest of House Highways and Transit Subcommittee Chairman John Duncan, R-Tenn.

"I like things like that -- giving people more money for doing things better or faster and penalizing people if something goes wrong," Rep. Duncan told Gannett.

Here's something Republicans and Democrats should be able to agree on. States that show a pattern of mismanaging highway projects should see their funding reduced, while those with a track record of success should be eligible for more funds and more flexibility in how to use them.