As it turns out, roads aren't the only things that governments are neglecting. The Evergreen Freedom Foundation says that the ferries that serve the Puget Sound metroplex are 80-year old Titanics. These boats are of no little financial importance; they make up 25% of the budget for the transportation department in the state of Washington. 

It's easy for government to neglect the construction and maintenance of roads and bridges, and instead spend the money and time on other items (schools, welfare programs) that have their specialized champions (the teacher unions, welfare-rights groups, etc.) Users of roads and other elements of the transportation network are a diffuse lot, so their needs go ignored.