Highway spending in the United States is administered primarily through the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), a division of the Department of Transportation (DOT). The FHWA administers two main programs. The Federal-Aid Highway Program maintains both the National Highway System and about one million additional miles of other roads. The Federal Lands Highway Program maintains roads on federal lands, such as national parks and forests. The FHWA also conducts safety research and funds projects to alleviate congestion on highways. Two smaller agencies within the DOT conduct their own highway safety programs: the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which is charged with enforcing safety and fuel-economy standards for motor vehicles, and the National Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which regulates commercial vehicles, such as trucks.
Funding for the FHWA comes from the Federal Highway Trust Fund. The fund is financed through excise taxes on gasoline, diesel fuel, truck tires and other items. These taxes include the 18.4-cent-per-gallon federal tax on gasoline, as well as taxes on diesel fuel, truck tires and other items. The FHWA directs almost all of the money to government recipients, primarily state departments of transportation, which must match a portion of the funds. The actual construction and upkeep of the roads is performed by state and local governments.
In fiscal year 2009, the FHWA's budget was $69.1 billion. This figure is much higher than in previous years, because it includes $27.5 billion from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. A small fraction of the FHWA's budget comes from the general fund for miscellaneous projects, such as the Appalachian Development Highway Program.
Not all Highway Trust Fund money is spent on highways. Roughly 80 percent of the money goes to highway projects; most of the rest goes to mass transit projects. The portion that goes to highways is intended primarily for the construction and upkeep of roads to facilitate interstate commerce and travel. Funds may also be allocated for projects such as bridge repair, safety improvements, bicycle and pedestrian facilities, carpools and recreational trails.
Federal subsidies to highways are difficult to quantify because the money is distributed to state governments, which administer the programs and are not required to publicly disclose details of their spending. Some subsidies arise as departments of transportation look for new ways to finance highway projects. States, for example, have begun to lease public roads to private companies. Those companies spend large sums for long-term leases of public roads — $3.8 billion was spent for a 75-year lease of a toll road in Indiana — and can then raise revenue by charging tolls. These companies are commonly granted tax benefits such as partial tax-free financing and accelerated depreciation.
