A multitude of missed opportunities

History will probably regard the disappointing record of the 111th
Congress on issues of transportation and infrastructure as a litany of
missed opportunities.

Our nation’s infrastructure, once the envy of the world, is rapidly
falling into disrepair. These very real problems threaten our economic
security and our way of life. The American Society of Civil Engineers
Report Card for America’s Infrastructure gives America’s infrastructure a
D grade and our roads a near failing D-. This is simply unacceptable. 

Crippling congestion and poor roads cost businesses and commuters almost
$90 billion a year in wasted time and fuel. Americans spend more than 4
billion hours per year stuck in traffic. One-third of America’s major
roads are in poor or mediocre condition and 45 percent of major urban
highways are congested. According to the U.S. Department of
Transportation, the federal government needs to invest a minimum of $62
billion per year just to maintain our roads and bridges in their present
condition. Our current annual level of investment is less than
two-thirds of that amount.

Addressing these challenges requires leadership and vision that has
unfortunately been sorely lacking in Washington. The American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act represented an unprecedented opportunity to truly
invest in our nation’s infrastructure needs, create hundreds of
thousands of jobs and contribute to a long-term economic revival.

However, less than 8 percent of the nearly trillion dollars spent on the
stimulus was actually dedicated to roads and bridges. Despite promises
from President Barack Obama to include a significant investment in the
highway system, the stimulus provided a paltry $30 billion towards roads
and bridges, most of which has been used for short-term repaving and
maintenance projects and not much needed capacity improvements.

Instead
of making a serious investment in infrastructure, where every $1 billion
creates or sustains roughly 30,000 jobs, the stimulus provided a
grab-bag of big government social spending that has done little to
nothing to stimulate the economy or address our infrastructure crisis. 

While I was encouraged the stimulus promised $8 billion designated for
expanded passenger rail service, even this opportunity has been
squandered. Instead of focusing on key corridors, scare federal dollars
were spread too thin among too many rail projects, leading to
incremental progress that could slow our already delayed entrance into
high-speed rail. Perhaps the biggest missed opportunity was the failure
to invest in the Northeast Corridor, which, for the most part, was kept
out of the selection process. Failing to invest in the critical
Northeast Corridor will insure continued congestion in our nation’s most
densely populated region.

Finally, the failure to pass a long-term surface transportation bill has
resulted in massive uncertainly to states, which must plan critical
projects years in advance, and to the construction industry, which has
been unable to invest, hire new employees, or purchase equipment,
sending ripples through the economy. While Chairman James Oberstar
(D-Minn.) and Ranking Member John Mica (R-Fla.) have shown leadership on
this issue in the House, President Obama, the Senate and the Department
of Transportation have been content to delay any action until next
year. These delays only further exacerbate the problems we are facing as
a nation and will require even more difficult choices when action
finally occurs.

These delays have serious consequences to our aging transportation
system as well as the construction, engineering and materials industries
that could flourish if the government invested in our roads and
bridges.

We must not and cannot wait for another tragedy like the I-35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis, Minn., to occur before our leaders
focus on these vital issues. The time for missed opportunities must
come to an end. The time for talk and delay is over. The time to act is
now.

Rep. Shuster is a member of the Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure.