AASHTO

Like seemingly everything else in Washington, Republicans and Democrats are light years apart in negotiations over a new five-year federal highway spending bill, and seem likely to kick the problem into 2021. That inaction—on what was once considered a so-called “must-pass” piece of legislation—is frustrating to leading trucking executives and others who rely on a modern American infrastructure network of interstate highways, bridges, ports and airports.

A letter to Congressional leadership from AASHTO calls for increase surface transportation funding.

Even though the federal government shutdown is approaching its third week that does not deter from the many facets of surface transportation infrastructure that will be addressed in 2019.

So far, talk is all that’s being produced from President Donald J. Trump’s promise of a grand $1 trillion investment program for, as he put it in his recent speech before both houses of Congress, “new roads, bridges, tunnels, airports and railways gleaming across our beautiful land.” But in a recent gathering of top state highway officials in Washington there was considerable skepticism that Trump’s plan, like so much of his fledgling presidency, is a lot of talk...

This report comes a year after Congress made dedicated freight funding a priority, with almost $11 billion in funding for freight mobility in dedicated freight funds as part of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act. What’s more, the report notes that under the FAST Act states will have a key role in how the U.S. plans for freight movement and what projects will be completed.

The transportation system that supports the movement of freight across America is facing a crisis. Our highways, railroads, ports, and waterways require investment well beyond current levels to maintain – much less improve – their performance. Millions of jobs and our nation’s long-term economic health are at risk.

In this first of a three-part report, Transportation Reboot describes what is changing in America and why those changes demand new transportation capacity. Future segments address the capacity increases required to meet the burgeoning freight demand, and to access the economic might of rural America.

Rural states are essential to the nation’s success, not only to meet the needs of their own citizens, but also to maintain their part of the national network on which the U.S. economy depends. Highways across rural states also serve as a “bridge” for traffic between population centers for people and freight.

Rail investments have often had a significant level of public investment. Investing public money in projects that would help a private company grow its revenues could be seen as a boondoggle. However, there are two such projects that I support, the National Gateway project and the Crescent Corridor.