There are about 600,000 bridges in the United States. The most recent
inventory by the federal government states that 25% of them are either
structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. That’s over 150,000 bridges which need major repairs or which need total replacement. A bridge lasts about 50 years.
There are over 4 millon miles of highways in the U.S. Note that the
interstate system has only 46,000 miles, a fraction of the total land
transportation “system.” According to the American Society of Civil
Engineers, over two-thirds of roads are in poor or mediocre condition (TRIP 2005), “resulting in $54 billion per year wasted on repairs and operating costs.” That’s waste! That’s $54 BILLION that’s thrown away due to the bad structural condition of the roads. It’s as if fixing the problem would cost just about nothing as the “waste” would stop.
Let’s skip all of the mind-numbing statistics. The above two paragraphs
tell us that the U.S. is in bad shape when it comes to bridges and
highways. It’s accepted as reasonable that state and federal governments collect a user fee on each gallon of fuel to maintain the system. However, that fixed charge per gallon has not been increased to keep up with the rising costs over the years. So, the fees buy less each year, and the bridges and highways deteriorate, and you, whether commuter or long-haul truck driver, suffer. Plus, in this era of demand for “fiscal stimulus,” bridges and highways are a great investment. It almost looks like we’d get our money back by fixing the problems as quickly as possible.
In a letter to Speaker Pelosi, the American Society of Civil Engineers
said: “Among those needs are over $50 billion a year in additional surface transportation funds, which would go toward correcting the nearly $100 billion in lost productivity every year due to traffic congestion. As those automobiles sit in traffic, the condition and safety of our nation’s bridges continues to worsen, costing an estimated $140 billion to repair all bridge deficiencies.”
How much planning does it take to start re-surfacing? It’s “shovel-ready” today! Once started, why stop? In the Sun Belt, the work can continue year-round. Tougher projects like bridges are also ready to go, but just need funding. Meantime, the new engineering projects can be put to blueprints. And, the full program will be a dynamic growth engine for at least 5 years.
A 50% increase in the per gallon user fees would put us on the road to
dramatic improvements. The total catch-up will take several years. However, the extra work and jobs will start immediately. That increase would be about ten cents per gallon. The alternative seems to be that the U.S. falls further into the hole . . . a national pothole.
This “infrastructure” program fits nicely into the “fiscal stimulus” being
put together today. Construction is not just a bunch of folks running
paving equipment. It means equipment gets manufactured, engineers are busy, and the office staffs and computers are whirring. First, it is an
investment where Americans get the benefits. Second, it requires no
borrowing of money. Third, all the jobs go to Americans.
Fixing America first is a great way to go.
Click here to contact your representatives in Washington, D.C.:
Our Elected Officials. They understand shovels.
– Byron
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