Done wrong, an earmark can actually hurt North Carolina's roads.
Since 1989, a state law has required that road money be spent around the state according to a strict formula based in part on population.
That means that if an earmark comes through for a specific road, it will just end up displacing money for another road in the same area, said Gene Conti, state secretary of transportation.
"In some cases, it could displace something that is either more important in that area or a piece of a larger project that's needed," he said.
To prevent that, the state Department of Transportation prepares a list of projects that could be earmarked without problem in each Congressional district, he said.
Conti is not a big fan of earmarks, since they tie the state's hands on spending without increasing the overall pot of money. But there are a few he will seek.
More after the jump.
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Though most earmarks come through federal programs that are subject to the 1989 equity law, there are a few sources of money that don't.
Earmarks through those programs increase the state's share of road money. They include a small fund for interstate highway improvements and a recent $1.5 billion fund to fix bridges in serious states of disrepair.
Conti said the state is seeking $300 million from a discretionary fund to repair the Yadkin River Bridge and has gotten support from Reps. Mel Watt and Larry Kissell and Sen. Kay Hagan.
Overall, though, he cautions local communities against seeking earmarks.
"There are these Washington lobbyists who peddle their wares to towns around North Carolina," he said. "They'll say, 'If you pay me $100,000 for the year, I'll get you $2 million or $5 million for this project. The problem is often times all they do is earmark within the formula program, so they're not bringing in more money to the state.
"They're just favoring one town over the other," he said.
Correction: The Yadkin River Bridge project is not technically an earmark.
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Re: Earmarks can displace road funds
Of course the people who currently decide who gets road funds don’t want interference from Washington.
The equity formula is an accounting trick; anyone who thinks road funds are distributed based on public need or anything other than political pull is not paying attention.
Too many local political leaders are team players who look the other way when the public they claim to represent is shortchanged on highway funds. For years the major papers have refused to expose the glaring misallocation of funds because they support the politicians most responsible.
If the press would map the way state funds for roads, parks, museums and conservation have ended up supporting private real estate deals that profit prominent politicos, the public would have a better understanding of why in these tough economic times the state is putting a five lane road into Pamlico County, a county with a population of less than 15,000, and how the state happened to build a bridge to nowhere in Anson County.