Fix Our Transportation Infrastructure Now

Last summer, when the Highway Trust Fund was weeks away from expiration, I wrote an op-ed urging Congress to address that near-term crisis.

I also urged them to enact a multi-year transportation authorization bill to support and grow the U.S. economy.

More than one year later we’re still lacking a long term solution. To quote Yogi Berra, it’s déjà vu all over again.

Yet I could argue it’s even worse now.

States and local communities have paid the price of another year of short-term funding uncertainty.

U.S. companies have spent another year managing around delays caused by aging and insufficient infrastructure. And U.S. workers have spent another year sitting in traffic, wasting precious time.

All of this threatens our nation’s future growth and prosperity.

Infrastructure is a key component of any competitiveness measure, and by any measure the United States is falling far behind.

The Road to Growth, a report issued by the Business Roundtable (BRT), includes these sobering facts:

• America is not number 1, number 2 or even number 10. We rank 16th in the world in overall infrastructure quality, behind Germany, France and Japan, and even Iceland, Hong Kong and Spain.
• Congestion costs the U.S. economy and consumers tens of billions of dollars. Aviation congestion and delays cost our economy $24 billion in 2012; urban highway congestion cost our economy more than $120 billion in 2011; and lock delays, port congestion and lack of facilities for larger ships added $33 billion to the cost of U.S. products in 2010.
• U.S. transit and highway infrastructure is subpar. Only 25 percent of transit rail station infrastructure is rated good or excellent; 50 percent of U.S. urban public buses are rated marginal or poor; and nearly one in four bridges in the national highway system is structurally deficient or functionally obsolete.

Because we know the increasing economic cost of lack of infrastructure investment, BRT is urging lawmakers to act, adding our voices to those already calling for a long-term, sustainable solution.

Together, BRT companies employ nearly 16 million people across all 50 states. Together, these millions of employees help BRT companies earn $7.2 trillion of revenues annually – that’s about twice the total U.S. government outlay in fiscal year 2014. Our employees’ contributions to the U.S. economy are invaluable. We want to help them be even more productive and prosperous, yet the poor condition of U.S. infrastructure is holding all of us back.

As the BRT report states, in the mid-20th century there was a strong U.S. public commitment to invest in world-class physical infrastructure. That helped propel the United States to become the world’s strongest economy. Since then, investment has tapered off or flat lined, while demand for high-performing, high capacity systems has grown.

Meanwhile, many other countries have figured out that infrastructure is a gateway to economic superiority and they’re replicating our success as fast as they can. Yet, while they’re moving forward we are stuck, threatening our future growth and prosperity.

It’s incredible to expect higher sustained growth when multi-year, multi-million dollar projects are funded for only six to twelve months at a time. A University of Maryland study concluded that an $83 billion infrastructure investment would create 1.7 million jobs in the first three years.

Source: CNBC

The Economic Power of Rebuilding America’s Transportation Infrastructure
After Decades of Neglect, Investing in System Will Boost U.S. Economy and Create Jobs

Washington - A new analysis by Business Roundtable outlines the economic cost of neglecting the nation’s transportation infrastructure and the positive effects of rebuilding it for the 21st Century.

Road to Growth: The Case for Investing in America’s Transportation Infrastructure contrasts America’s current investment with 20th Century levels – a period when the country was committed to building the roads, bridges and waterways that moved the economy forward.

“The U.S. economy absolutely relies on a strong national transportation infrastructure,” said Doug Oberhelman, Chairman and CEO of Caterpillar Inc. and Chair of the Business Roundtable infrastructure initiative. “But much of our infrastructure is aging, outdated and unreliable. This report gives all the reasons necessary to take action, as soon as possible, to rebuild our infrastructure assets so we can both support and grow the U.S. economy.”

Among the key findings included in the report:

• America Is No. 16: The United States’ overall infrastructure quality ranks 16th, behind such countries as Germany, France and Japan.
• Highways and Bridges: Urban highway congestion cost the economy more than $120 billion in 2011, and nearly one in four bridges in the national highway system is structurally deficient or functionally obsolete.
• Waterways and Ports: Lock delays, port congestion and lack of facilities for larger ships added $33 billion to the cost of U.S. products in 2010.
• As much as $3 in economic activity is created by every $1 invested in infrastructure.
• Up to $320 billion in economic output would be generated in 2020 if U.S. infrastructure investment were boosted by 1 percent of GDP per year.

Related: Time for Congress to Focus Seriously on Addressing Transportation & Infrastructure