Election year paradox: County roads both 'best' and 'worst' they've been in years - Buffalo News

When Mark Poloncarz was campaigning to unseat former Erie County Executive Chris Collins in 2011, he pointed to deteriorating roads as an example of Collins' "record of failure."

Now, his political opponents are saying the same thing about his leadership. Republican-endorsed challenger Lynne Dixon has aired a TV attack ad for weeks, with her behind the wheel, talking about how county roads are in the worst shape they've ever been.

Republican Comptroller Stefan Mychajliw has aired a series of videos on social media highlighting deteriorated roads and bridges in rural communities. One featured roads in Zoar Valley that are so bad that local residents spray-painted the buckling pavement with their own "slow down" messages, complete with arrows and swear words.

“I’ve driven in Haiti before," said William Cain, 71, a lifelong Gowanda resident said at a packed community meeting in the Zoar Valley region this month. "The roads down here would make Haiti's minister of transportation embarrassed."

County Executive Poloncarz has pushed back. He points out that his administration has earmarked nearly $383 million in operating and borrowed money to make road and bridge improvements and support Highway Division operations – more on an average annual basis, than spent by Collins or predecessor Joel Giambra in his second term.

A Buffalo News review of infrastructure data paints a more complex picture of road conditions and county investment.

For instance, it is true that the roughly 1,200 miles of Erie County roads are currently, on average, in the best shape they've ever been over the past 20 years.

It is also true that over the last four years county roads have been in some of the roughest shape, on average, they've ever been over the last 20 years.

County roads have generally maintained an average road condition score of "fair" across the last three county administrations, based on an objective, 10-point scoring system produced by the Greater Buffalo Niagara Regional Transportation Council.

Roads must be rated 7 or higher to be considered "good" or "excellent," and 6 to be considered "fair." The transportation council considers ratings of 5 or less to be "poor."

This year, the council gave the county roads an average annual score of 6.66, based on scoring done in May and June. At the administration's request, the council updated the score in September to reflect additional work done. The updated "good" road score of 7.02 is the best score county roads have received in at least two decades.

But when averaging the overall scores for each of the last three county executives, Poloncarz's average ranks lowest. County officials responded that the administration's score still falls between 6 and 7, like the scores achieved under Giambra and Collins.

"You're talking about tenths of a point," Poloncarz said. "It's not that different."

He and Public Works Commissioner William Geary also said the county has borrowed millions for bridge projects, many of which are ineligible for state or federal aid and are far more costly than road repaving projects. In 2015, for instance, when the county roads got their worst average rating of 6.15 under the Poloncarz administration, the county borrowed $4.2 million to reconstruct four culverts and bridges.

Other findings

Based on an extensive review of information gathered from the county administration, the Erie County Comptroller's Office and the transportation council, The Buffalo News also found:

• The amount of money budgeted and initially approved by the County Legislature for road and bridge work each year does not reflect the amount ultimately borrowed and earmarked for that work. In many cases, the final amount is far less. County officials attribute that to state funding losses and decisions by the administration to borrow money for its most costly projects in phases instead of all at once.

• The Department of Public Works receives millions of dollars every year for roadwork that it doesn't spend for years, though this is not unique to the Poloncarz administration. In any given year, it is common for hundreds of thousands of capital construction dollars – sometimes more than $1 million – to remain unspent four years later.

An analysis of budget data from 2012 to 2017 shows that nearly 40% of the capital money allotted each year for road repair work under the Poloncarz administration remained unspent two years later. Three years later, 20% remained unspent, based on data from 2012 to 2016. The gap between budgeted and spent dollars was even greater under the Collins administration.

County administrators said the department typically collects and hangs onto partial funding for several years until it has enough to undertake big-ticket projects. Sometimes, the county must wait for the state or federal government to free up its share of project funding, or projects come in over bid. And sometimes, the county simply needs to close accounts for projects already completed.

"I'm not making the call saying, 'Don't spent the money,' " Poloncarz said.

Some Zoar Valley roads near Springville and Concord are in terrible shape. Groth Road is currently undergoing reconstruction after deep swells and dips led to a rippling effect, causing vehicles to travel as slowly as 10 mph. (Sharon Cantillon/Buffalo News)

• Comptroller Mychajliw issued a report this week highlighting "poor" county roads rated 4 or lower. This year, he said, 54 road segments were listed as being in poor condition. That's the highest number since 2011, when 98 roads received that designation under Collins. The report recommends better planning, noting that some bad roads that have come off the list showed up again a few years later.

Poloncarz and Geary dismissed the report as outdated, saying that of the 54 road segments the report listed as "poor," only 29 still hold that designation.

"The whole report is bad," Poloncarz said.

The critics

Republican-supported county legislators often accuse the Poloncarz administration of ignoring roadwork requests or using them as political bargaining chips.

Legislator Dixon used Lake Avenue in Blasdell as an example of what she called a lack of county planning. The community's annual Memorial Day Parade was canceled two years in a row because of the road's deteriorated condition. Dixon said she'd sent a letter to the Department of Public Works about the road in 2012.

“Here we are in 2019, and they are just getting started,” she said.

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Orchard Park Legislator John Mills has more miles of rural county road in his Southtowns district than any other legislator – and several of the worst-rated roads in the entire county. He spent $600 of his own money last year to order 100 black-and-yellow yard signs that read, "POLONCARZ FIX THIS ROAD."

Amherst Legislator Edward Rath III gave Poloncarz credit for repairing some major county roads and bridges. But he also stuck his foot in a pothole on a busy and crack-riddled stretch of Maple Road to show that some major thoroughfares still need attention, not just rural roadways.

Cracks and potholes line Maple Road in Amherst, where asphalt laid over an old concrete road bed has led to maintenance headaches every year. Parts of Maple Road farther east have been repaired but this stretch near the Audubon Golf Course still awaits work. (Derek Gee/Buffalo News)

Poloncarz considers the parade cancellations and signs to be political stunts. He said legislators have the ability to lobby for road improvements with his administration every year as part of the Capital Projects Committee process. Many, including Dixon and Rath, acknowledge that they don't go. Poloncarz also said legislators are well aware of the cost constraints that prohibit the county from fixing all roads that need work in any given year.

Some roads in particularly bad shape, like Zoar Valley Road in the Southtowns, would cost tens of millions of dollars to properly fix, yet legislators mislead constituents into believing the county has the resources to quickly make such repairs to score points with constituents, Poloncarz said. He added that these same legislators criticize him for raising taxes.

No easy answer

The Buffalo News sought information showing when road repair projects are approved and when work actually begins. The News also asked for annual information on project requests that were passed over. The county could not provide this data in a meaningful way. Administrators said the county's old financial tracking software is ill-equipped for project planning, so road projects and timelines are still tracked on paper.

Project information that was provided for 2012-2019 did show that once a major road or bridge project commenced, it was usually completed within one to two years.

With more than half of all county roads repaired, repaved or reconstructed since taking office in 2012, and extensive public investment, Poloncarz said he'd give himself a B grade for his stewardship of county infrastructure.

"I can’t say an 'A' because there are always roads that need work, but I always have to keep in mind how much money I have to spend," Poloncarz said. "If a B’s a 90, I’d give myself a 90."

New drainage in the process of being installed along Lake Avenue in Blasdell earlier this month between Coder Road and Route 5. The full reconstruction will run from Route 5 to South Park Avenue. (Sharon Cantillon/Buffalo News)

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