Q: How did our roads, bridges and public transportation systems fall into such disrepair?

A: The 2005 federal highway bill provided $90 billion less than the $375 billion that transportation experts said was needed to repair, rebuild and replace America’s infrastructure, according to the Associated Press, August 8, 2007.

According to the study “Future Financing Options to Meet Highway and Transit Needs,” there is an average annual gap of more than $50 billion in capital, operations and maintenance funding to maintain the nation’s highway and transit systems from 2007 to 2017, and an average annual gap of more than $100 billion to “improve” these systems.

The gas taxes that paid for much of America's postwar freeway system have been eaten away by inflation and higher fuel efficiency. The federal user fee of 18.4 cents a gallon has not been raised since 1993.

Q: How do we pay for all of the needed transportation investment in this environment?

A: There is no question that, as a nation, we are going to have to find and invest more public dollars in our infrastructure. There is no single answer, but all the options must be on the table.

We must do more to ensure that public dollars are spent wisely. That means ending waste and targeting the highest priority projects. It means a sensible mix of projects based on actual needs and not on politics or ideologies—for example, more road construction in some communities, more investment in mass transit in others.

It also means ending the practice of diverting money intended for infrastructure to other programs. Politicians should start paying a price when they skim money from dedicated transportation funds to pay for projects of their own choosing. It breaks trust with the taxpayers, who expect their user fees to go toward their intended purposes.

In addition to cutting waste and ensuring that infrastructure dollars are spent as promised, we can also stretch public dollars by tapping the growing interest in public-private partnerships and other innovative financing arrangements. 

Finally, we are going to have to face this fundamental fact—we are a growing country with aging infrastructure. We have to fix what we have, and then, if we want a new road, a new runway, or a new transit system, we’ve got to buy it. No one is giving them away for free.

Q: What is SAFETEA-LU and why is it important?

A: On August 10, 2005, President Bush signed the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU).
SAFETEA-LU authorizes the federal surface transportation programs for highways, highway safety, and transit for a 5-year period.  SAFETEA-LU expires on September 30, 2009.  Totaling $286 billion, SAFETEA-LU represents the largest surface transportation investment in our nation’s history.

In order to remain efficient, safe and competitive, this nation needs to invest in its transportation system.  Congress and the Administration need to think beyond the short term in planning for a comprehensive interconnected transportation system that will support our businesses and supply chains.  They must also make strategic and often difficult decisions in creatively financing a transportation system that will support a growing, robust global economy while protecting our environment.

Q: What is the Highway Trust Fund?

A: The Highway Trust Fund (HTF) is the source of funding for most of the programs in the SAFETEA-LU. The HTF is composed of the Highway Account, which funds highway and intermodal programs, and the Mass Transit Account.  Federal motor fuel taxes are the major sources of income for the HTF.  Unless Congress takes immediate action, the Highway Account is forecasted to fall short of meeting the commitments made under SAFETEA-LU and result in a negative $4.3 billion balance during fiscal year 2009.

The National Chamber Foundation’s Future of Highway and Public Transportation Financing Study, indicates that between 2006 and 2015, annual HTF revenues will fall $23 billion short of maintaining highway and transit systems and $48 billion short of the federal share needed to improve the systems.

Q: You and other infrastructure experts blame the lack of funding for infrastructure problems. But others say the amount of money available is not the problem—the problem is that the money is wasted on earmarks. What is ATM’s position on earmarks?

A: Without a doubt, some money has been wasted. You can find some waste in every government program and every corporate budget. Moreover, some earmarks obviously had more of a political than economic purpose. Certainly we have concerns about some of the earmarks that are in different bills.  But, if you look at all of the earmarks that were in SAFETEA-LU, the vast majority of them are for projects that were on state transportation improvement programs already. So not all earmarks are evil. What we can do going forward is try to make sense of the priorities.

Q: If we are using the bulk of the money to repair and rebuild, where does that leave safety and security precautions?

A: If we fail to increase investment, we will see more senseless deaths on our bridges and roads, not to mention on our rails and waterways. Americans need to know that 33 percent of our major roads are in poor or mediocre condition. Shoddy road conditions result in $67 billion in extra vehicle repairs and operating costs per year. More importantly, poorly maintained roads contribute to a third of all highway fatalities. That’s more than 14,000 deaths every year—a national scandal of shocking proportions. 

Q: How does underfunded investment in transportation affect daily life?

A: If we fail to act, we will pollute our air and destroy the free, mobile way of life we cherish. Thirty-six percent of America’s major urban highways are congested. Congestion costs drivers $63 billion a year in wasted time and fuel costs. Americans spend 3.7 billion hours a year stuck in traffic. And while their car engines are idling, they are pumping thousands of tons of pollution into the air every day.

Q: How does the state of our transportation system affect businesses and thus the economy?

A: Employers rely on transportation systems to connect them to their workforce, and to connect that workforce with suppliers and customers around the country and the world.  Unfortunately, increasing congestion is disrupting these important connections and imposing additional costs on workers and employers alike. 

As congestion increases throughout the transportation system, supply chains and cargo shipments are frequently disrupted and the cost of doing business increases.

According to the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) recent report, An Initial Assessment of Freight Bottlenecks on Highways, “If the U.S. economy grows at a conservative annual rate of 2.5 to 3 percent over the next 20 years, domestic freight tonnage will almost double and the volume of freight moving through the largest international gateways may triple or quadruple.… Without new strategies to increase capacity, congestion... may impose an unacceptably high cost on the nation’s economy and productivity.”

Q: How will global economic competitiveness affect American businesses if an investment in transportation is not made?

A: If we fail to address our transportation infrastructure challenges, we will lose jobs and industries to other nations.  Our global competitors are building and rebuilding while America is standing still. China, India, and the developing world are building at a staggering pace. China spends 9 percent of its GDP on infrastructure; India, 5 percent and rising. While they started well behind us, they are catching up fast. The United States has spent on average less than 2 percent of GDP since 1980. We cannot expect to remain competitive with that level of investment.