The famed Lake Shore Drive in downtown Chicago closed suddenly Feb. 11 due to “structural emergencies,” as crews scrambled to temporarily fix a cracked steel beam that supports the roadway. A permanent solution is weeks away.
Outside Boston, chunks of concrete fell from a bridge structure on Feb. 7, prompting the closure of lanes on I-90 and resulting in major traffic delays. On the same day, concrete also fell from the Richmond-San Raphael Bridge in Northern California, causing gridlock. Luckily, no one was injured in either case.
And yet, such incidents spotlight in real terms the impacts on daily life when service is disrupted and interrupted on our roads and bridges.
Make no mistake: Americans want their infrastructure fixed. A Jan. 23-24 Rasmussen Reports survey found that almost 90 percent of likely voters believe “the Democratic leadership and President Trump should work together during 2019 to pass legislation that would improve … infrastructure.”
By far, the most pressing infrastructure issue is ensuring the long-term viability of the federal Highway Trust Fund, or HTF. The HTF provides, on average nationally, over 50 percent of the annual capital investments in highway and bridge improvements made by the state transportation departments. Without new revenue, starting in 2021, states will face a growing cut from their current level of HTF program funding that would average about $19 billion annually.
Priority #1 for Congress and President Trump is providing an expanded and sustainable revenue solution to support future HTF investments. All revenue options, including an increase in the federal gasoline tax and new freight-related user fees, should be on the table.
Contrary to the assertions of so-called pundits, supporting a gas tax increase is not political suicide. At a Feb. 7 House of Representatives hearing, newly elected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz detailed how he won office last November with an agenda that included raising the state’s gas tax.
Since 2013, 27 states have raised or adjusted their state gas tax to increase transportation investment. Voters have re-elected 92 percent of nearly 1,900 state lawmakers who voted in favor of a gas tax increase 2013-2018 and ran for re-election. Support for lawmakers persists across party lines — over 90 percent of Democrats and 94 percent of Republicans were re-elected.
Priority #2 is a robust infrastructure package with resources that are invested in projects that will facilitate long-term regional and national economic growth.
The president and Congress should double current investment in the 68,000-mile National Highway Freight Network. This is America’s Economic Expressway: the Interstate system and 18,000 miles of urban and rural roads that connect it to the nation’s major ports, inland waterways, rail hubs, airports, and pipelines.
The value of freight shipments is expected to double by 2045 and the U.S. population projected to increase 20 percent over the same period. We need to be prepared for the increased demand.
The pavement on much of the interstates may be in good shape, but the performance of the system and its links to modal hubs is deteriorating. A Feb. 12 report from the American Transportation Research Institute revealed the top 100 truck freight bottlenecks are costing the U.S. economy $75 billion and 1.2 billion hours of lost time and productivity annually.
If done right, modernizing our transportation network will not only get the motoring public moving again, it will also help reduce costs and make U.S. businesses more productive and competitive.
Earlier this year, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said: “I’m optimistic because one of the subjects I have some common ground with the president on is the subject of infrastructure. Maybe 80 percent of the conversations I’ve had with him since his election have been about infrastructure.” And in his State of the Union address, President Trump expressed a desire to get an infrastructure bill done, saying: “I am eager to work with you on legislation to deliver new and important infrastructure investment. This is not an option. This is a necessity.”
Common ground is there for the taking. We encourage President Trump and Congress to travel that road together.
Dave Bauer is American Road & Transportation Builders Association president and chief executive officer. He joined the association in 1997.
