AUSTIN -- A 27-page report released Thursday by the Texas Public Interest Research Group says lobbyists have convinced states to invest in costly new roads instead of doing comparatively low cost repair work to existing ones.
"Our transportation infrastructure is not driven on the needs of the people nearly so much as it's driven by the dollars into the industry," said Hank Gilbert, a board member of Texans United for Reform and Freedom. "More money, greed -- it's the same thing that's fueling politics."
Gilbert is also a democratic candidate for governor.
Researchers said they know exactly which members of the State Legislature and of the congressional delegation took the most from the highway lobby, but they also said they wouldn't provide that information to KVUE.
Texas congressional leaders got $5 million from highway lobbyists in 2008. Representatives and Senators from only three other states got more that year.
Texas state legislators received $8 million from the lobbyists, more than those from any other state.
"The question is -- is it hurting our transportation system in a way that makes it ineffective?" asked State Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso, who sits on the Senate's Transportation Committee.
He says Texas has been lax when it comes to keeping up with existing roads, but he says roads -- old or new -- aren't the answer to Texas' transportation problems.
"Too much (money) is tied up in concrete, in building new roads; not enough of it goes to mobility projects especially light rail," he said.
