Here's a great example of watchdog journalism: The Idaho Statesman recently published an investigation revealing that private contractors meant to repair infrastructure were fleecing the state.
"Companies that are responsible for checking the quality of Idaho’s road materials have altered the results of their asphalt tests thousands of times, government documents show. Those changes may have allowed contractors that repair and build Idaho’s highway infrastructure to get bonus payments when they should have been penalized for substandard work — or even forced to tear up the asphalt and replace it," Audrey Dutton reports for the Statesman.
According to a Statesman analysis of four highway projects, the state paid contractors about $8 million, including $190,000 in bonuses, for asphalt whose test results were altered "dozens or hundreds of times," Dutton reports.
"For decades, Idaho has paid private contractors to repair and build the state’s vast system of highways, roads and bridges. They are trusted to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars and to ensure the state’s infrastructure is built to last and is safe for drivers," Dutton reports. "Most of Idaho’s tests are performed by private contractors, since the state cut back on resources it needed to run them in-house."
Tractor-trailers and farm equipment have become much larger over the past few decades, which causes increased wear and tear on the nation's roads. Since many of those road miles are in rural areas, states can pay disproportionate amounts of money to fix rural infrastructure. The bottom line: road upkeep is expensive enough without the added cost of shady contractors.
"Companies that are responsible for checking the quality of Idaho’s road materials have altered the results of their asphalt tests thousands of times, government documents show. Those changes may have allowed contractors that repair and build Idaho’s highway infrastructure to get bonus payments when they should have been penalized for substandard work — or even forced to tear up the asphalt and replace it," Audrey Dutton reports for the Statesman.
According to a Statesman analysis of four highway projects, the state paid contractors about $8 million, including $190,000 in bonuses, for asphalt whose test results were altered "dozens or hundreds of times," Dutton reports.
"For decades, Idaho has paid private contractors to repair and build the state’s vast system of highways, roads and bridges. They are trusted to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars and to ensure the state’s infrastructure is built to last and is safe for drivers," Dutton reports. "Most of Idaho’s tests are performed by private contractors, since the state cut back on resources it needed to run them in-house."
Tractor-trailers and farm equipment have become much larger over the past few decades, which causes increased wear and tear on the nation's roads. Since many of those road miles are in rural areas, states can pay disproportionate amounts of money to fix rural infrastructure. The bottom line: road upkeep is expensive enough without the added cost of shady contractors.
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