Follow the money and the same people are at both ends.  Call them what you like.

They need to be investigated, tried, and incarcerated.

Besides the massive amount of bridge repair and replacement, what is urgently needed in highway funding?

What is needed is massive buildout of bike lanes alonside existing roads.  Widen the pavement a few feet and safe bike lanes are inexpensive.

Saving wear and tear on highways.  

How about burying utility cables in wells beneath the bike lanes, with removable concrete covers?  Saving that endless expensive trenching ultimately payed for by rising utility rates for all of us.

That way power lines (that carry internet and smart grid switching) can be inexpensively moved off poles where ever increasing storms are making the grid too vulnerable.

These are the sorts of initiatives that the trillion wasted on oil wars, the trillion wasted on wall street bailouts, and the trillion in corporate welfare, would be better spent on.

It will be 6 trillion wasted at least over the next 8 years on similar corruption unless we make them spend a fraction of that on energy, transportation, and agriculture policy reform.  

GHG/inflation fighting renewable energy and conservation, backed by direct subsidy diversion will pay for that investment many times over with economic revival.