Sad, but true.
PennDot (PA Dept. of Transportation) has one of the largest budgets of any state, yet our roads are appalling. Ask any trucker and he'll/she'll tell you that of all the states on the eastern seaboard, PA's roads are the absolute worst. What are we getting for our money, but a bunch of bitten tongues, chipped teeth, worn shocks and blown tires as we bounce over the expansion joints and patches? If they can't produce a durable, smooth road surface (it's not rocket science), we're talking incompetence, not money.
That's state, not federal, but I've little trust that the federal DOT is doing any better.
The whole process should be bid out to a contractor who can get it right.
Exactly the same situation here in Michigan.
They simply pave and in a couple of years have to start patching. After a couple of years of this the roads need repaving again. States such as Wyoming and Colorado have even more severe Winters but have roads that endure it.
From this I can only conclude it is incompetence or fraud on the part of the Contractors and those who award the Contracts.