Photo Credit: Ousseynou Cissé
With Congress mapping out transportation plans for the upcoming year and the increasing need for infrastructure investment, it is critical that lawmakers work expeditiously and in a bipartisan manner to address our nation’s dire infrastructure needs.
ASCE applauds the Obama Administration’s announcement this week on increasing private investment to infrastructure through its Build America Investment Initiative.
Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx revealed that the White House’s 30-Year Transportation Plan will address funding needs in light of the nation’s rapid population growth and aging infrastructure. Fox indicated, “We must make our solutions as big as our problems” and warned that “not having a plan is the same as having a plan to fail.”
A recent New York Times article restated the spiral effects of our country’s insufficient road and transit systems. These subpar transit systems cost our country billions in increased delays, extra fuel costs and auto repair bills. Not to mention poor road conditions contribute to about one-third of all traffic fatalities, or about 10,000 deaths a year.
With time running out to #FixtheTrustFund, we hope that members of Congress will work together to pass legislation that will provide long-term sustainable funding for America’s surface transportation systems.