Potholes, crumbling pavement and other byproducts of poorly maintained roads are costing Texas car owners an average of $336 a year in unnecessary repairs, according to a report released Thursday. "As road conditions deteriorate, drivers incur greater and greater costs every time they get behind the wheel," says the report, titled Road Work Ahead by the Texas Public Interest Research Group.

A 27-page report released Thursday by the Texas Public Interest Research Group says lobbyists have convinced states to invest in costly new roads instead of doing comparatively low cost repair work to existing ones.

In 2004, Gov. Rick Perry announced his plans to build the Trans Texas Corridor, and in 2009, it cost him an important endorsement from the Texas Farm Bureau.

Two years ago, lawmakers went to war with Gov. Rick Perry over his push to privatize Texas toll roads, but their efforts to stop the idea largely failed.

For a decade, Texas’ penchant for privatizing everything from the building of roadways to administering food stamps was growing as fast as the national debt. These days, however, the nation’s financial crisis is putting a damper on Texas’ love affair with privatization, according to government accountability advocates.

Capital Metro unveiled its streetcar circulator route for Down-town and Mueller at its board meeting this week, but the agency managed to see that announcement upstaged by a proposal to double current bus fares and a likely impending labor squabble.