DOT must keep eye on spending

The state just got a pat on the back from the feds for reducing its backlog of federally funded highway projects to $656.5 million — the smallest it’s been since 2002. But it’s still baffling that state transportation officials allowed the backlog to reach nearly $1 billion at its peak in 2010.

The backlog, also known as the Pipeline, reached $940 million in 2010. Nearly a billion dollars in federally funded highway projects on the road to nowhere. Naturally, the size of the Pipeline didn’t sit well with the Federal Highway Administration, which warned the state that Hawaii could lose out on federal transporation funding unless it processed its projects more quickly and reduced the backlog of unspent federal dollars.

The supersized Pipeline prompted the U.S. Department of Transportation to send teams of experts to Hawaii last year to review the state systems used to approve, process and fund federal projects. The state was advised on how to fix problems with the system.

And it appears strides have been made. “I commend you and your staff on the continued progress,” FHWA Hawaii Division Administrator Mayela Sosa said in an Oct. 2 letter to state Director of Transportation Ford Fuchigami.

It’s crucial that steady progress be made toward drastically reducing the Pipeline. Hawaii receives about $160 million in new federal highway funding every year and last year the FHA warned that Hawaii will be allowed just 180 days to move into actual construction from the time the federal government commits funds for each new isle highway project.

Back in 2012, the state took an average of 367 days to move projects into construction from the time federal funding had been authorized. Delayed payments, unnecessary steps and a lack of staff expertise in key areas such as federal environmental requirements fed into the backlog.

To cut the time lag, the state began to focus its efforts on quicker hits such as repaving and repair projects that are easier to push into construction. Large-scale projects to increase road capacity and ease traffic flow were put on the back burner. Once the simpler jobs are moving apace, though, focus must be renewed on those bigger, impactful traffic projects, for the relief of long-suffering commuters.

What’s ironic is the state seems to aggressively seek federal funding, but once it’s in hand, some departments have difficulty spending it. There’s no good reason for millions of dollars to languish to the point where federal officials warn to “use it or lose it.”

While the state DOT allowed the Pipeline to balloon, the state Department of Health has had trouble drawing down its Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, which offers the counties low-interest loans to improve Hawaii’s aging drinking water infrastructure.

At the end of 2014, the revolving fund had $100 million in federal and state funds. The federal Environmental Protection Agency says the Health Department simply isn’t hitting targets for drawing down the balance.

The EPA has withheld the Health Department’s annual allotment of $8 million until it meets several requirements, including committing at least $28 million in new loans and disbursing $7.6 million in funding by Jan. 29 — a deadline that the Health Department’s Safe Drinking Water Branch says it expects to meet.

Plain and simple, the state needs to be better shepherds of taxpayer dollars.

Regarding the highways funding, Gov. David Ige personally assured U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx that Hawaii will do a better job of advancing transportation projects. It must. It’s unacceptable for the state to move at a snail’s pace on projects that could result in improved driving conditions or shorter commutes.