Figure out who's getting access to the roads. Find the traffic engineers who are responsible for considering requests for curb cuts on major roads-requests from developers and business owners - ask them if their recommendations have ever been overturned or ignored.
Look for right-of-way scams. Most deals aren't worth spending your time on, but check with the Federal Highway Administration on any right-of-way settlements they refused to sign. Chances are, there's something funny about the deal if the Feds won't sign off. Ask to see the appraisals prepared for the department and compare those amounts to the amount actually paid. In fact, ask to see the entire project file.
Find the slush funds. Talk to veteran transportation officials, politicians, and advocacy groups to find the "discretionary" funds, who controls them, and what they're used for. Get the records on how the money has been spent (ask if they're in a computer database) and then compare them to the department's priorities. It's a sure bet the two lists won't match up.
Take the bite out of the watchdog. When you find the slush funds, see if a lot of money is going to members of legislative oversight committees or other legislators with power over the transportation department. Ask for any correspondence or records of phone calls from those legislators.
Are your roads being maintained? Most states have goals, or standards, for resurfacing their roads. Find out what those goals are; then find out how many miles the state is resurfacing each year; then do the math. Is your state meeting its own goals? If not, why not? Talk to the maintenance engineers out in the field - they can tell you where the problems are.
Could that accident have been prevented? State transportation agencies spend a lot of money analyzing intersections and other potential danger spots on roads. If there is a bad accident on a road near you, check with the state's traffic safety engineers to see if they've studied that intersection. If they already knew it was dangerous, why didn't they fix it? Had they spent the money on a project that was a lower priority but had more political muscle behind it? Again, ask to see the project file.
"If it's good for bizness" Find out if your state has a fund for industrial access roads. Such roads often amount to little more than private driveways for companies - paid for by taxpayers. Check the files to find out who weighed in on the company's behalf and whether the department followed its own rules for paying for such roads.
Bill Krueger can be reached by e-mail at bkrueger@nando.com