America's infrastructure directly affects our economic and social well-being. Every day we rely upon our roads, bridges, transit, rail, water, waste and other infrastructure to survive and thrive. Despite our dependence on it, we have permitted our infrastructure to be stretched beyond its capacity. Recently, the American Society of Civil Engineers gave a cumulative grade of "D" to the nation's infrastructure, stating, "For the safety and security of our families, we can no longer afford to ignore the congested roads, aging dams, broken water mains, and deficient bridges we face every day.  The quality of life for this and future generations depends on our willingness to rise to the challenge."

The National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Commission concluded in its report, Transportation for Tomorrow, "We need to invest at least $225 billion annually from all sources for the next 50 years to upgrade our existing system to a state of good repair and create a more advanced surface transportation system to sustain and ensure strong economic growth for our families. We are spending less than 40 percent of this amount today."

The Little Rock Regional Chamber supports robust, reliable, effective funding for all forms of infrastructure - roads, bridges, transit, rail, waterways, water, waste and beyond. We must insist upon courageous and visionary action now. Our infrastructure requires it, our economy needs it, and we all stand to gain.

 

Mar 10, 2010 Stimulus funds target infrastructure (The San Diego Union-Tribune) Of those, 19 projects worth $169.1 million are in four of five San Diego's congressional districts.    more...  

Mar 10, 2010 TRANSPORTATION (Houston Chronicle) The creation of a Galveston County urban and rural transit district would potentially pull together all 13 municipalities in the county, providing a single voice to negotiate with Houston Metro, the federal government and other entities, Galveston County Judge Jim Yarbrough said. "Certainly,...    more...  

Mar 10, 2010 No backup plan if I-80 tolls rejected (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) Biehler warned. People often ask if the state has a backup plan to generate transportation funding if the I-80 tolls aren't approved by the Federal Highway Administration, said Rep. Joe Markosek, D-Monroeville, head of the state House Transportation Committee. "There is no plan B," Mr. Markosek...    more...  

Mar 9, 2010 When will WES prove itself? Tri-Met's Wilsonville-to-Beaverton commuter rail still suffering growing pains (The Oregonian) Patience, he said. "I think it's a temporary problem," he said. "It was for commuters. The current contract would only allow the addition of a midday commuter run. Weekends are a non-starter. Looking at the recent uptick in ridership, TriMet suspects a group of commuters stumbled onto WES...    more...  

Mar 8, 2010 High-speed rail still has many challenges to overcome, supporters say (St. Petersburg Times) However, even Siemens and other possible contractors are skeptical of those numbers. The national political mood provides another "cloud," consultants told the audience. As gas prices dipped, so did interest in using rail instead of planes or cars, polling showed.    more...  

Mar 8, 2010 Recent $237,000 In Transportation Funding Part Of A $152 Million Award (The Hartford Courant) ...state legislator on Friday called the grant "disappointing and disheartening," and The Courant on Saturday described the award as part of a competitive program. But on Saturday, state Transportation Commissioner Joseph Marie called the news reports "misleading," and praised the state's record...    more...  

Mar 7, 2010 EDITORIAL: Note to critics: Roads, freeways subsidized, too (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) The Milwaukee-Madison connection has intrinsic value, but it will have more value as part of a route that eventually links Chicago to the Twin Cities and points in between. Service on the Milwaukee-Madison route would start with six round trips at 79 mph in 2013, increasing to 110 mph in 2015....    more...  

Mar 6, 2010 Kansas cancels big highway projects amid budget crisis (The Kansas City Star) Some said they would have preferred reductions in school funding. Others said canceling highway repair now just delays the inevitable. "This sows the seeds of a bigger crisis in the highway fund," said Sen. Jeff Colyer, an Overland Park Republican. "We're still going to have to do those...    more...  

Mar 6, 2010 Connecticut Receives $238,000 In Funds For Transit Projects (The Hartford Courant) Donald DeFronzo, co-chairman of the General Assembly's transportation committee. "I see this as disappointing and disheartening. About 40 states got a share; Connecticut wasn't excluded this time, but finished almost at the bottom of the list of winners. Only Alaska, which received $140,000 to...    more...  

Mar 5, 2010 State Gets A Disappointing $238,000 In Federal Transit Funds (The Hartford Courant) Donald DeFronzo, co-chairman of the General Assembly's transportation committee. "I see this as disappointing and disheartening. About 40 states got a share; Connecticut wasn't excluded this time, but finished almost at the bottom of the list of winners. Only Alaska, which received $140,000 to...    more...  

Mar 4, 2010 Get used to the gridlock (The Virginian-Pilot) ...monies." Layne said the state will need to seek more public-private partnerships to build roads -- partnerships that generally require tolls -- and to consider more transit options such as light rail, bus rapid transit and high-speed rail, for which there's federal funding. The grim...    more...  

Mar 2, 2010 Smokies road work halts (The Knoxville News-Sentinel) Lamar Alexander, R-Maryville, blamed Democrats for the work stoppage on the Cades Cove project. "The HIRE Act, which Sen.    more...  

Mar 1, 2010 Federal stimulus funds slow to take hold in Inland region (The Press-Enterprise) For most of the last year, Detroit has been the only metropolitan area with more jobless workers than Inland Southern California. Murphy estimated about two dozen workers were hired. "Does (the stimulus) create more jobs? My answer is that it keeps us from laying off people sooner," Murphy said....    more...  

Mar 1, 2010 Kentucky senator blocks job extensions (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) Because passing the extensions required unanimous consent, Mr. The programs are designed to reduce traffic injuries and fatalities from distracted driving and improve child passenger and motorcycle safety. We are aiming for another $1.8 billion in highway and bridge contracts this calendar year.    more...  

Mar 1, 2010 Funds trickle in for missing link for Tri-State and I-57 (Chicago Tribune) But when I-57 was built in the late 1960s, no interchange was included. The tollway started drawing plans in 1993, said Rocco Zucchero, deputy chief of engineering. Over the years, the complexity and costs have grown. In 2006, officials estimated the interchange would cost $225 million. The...    more...  

Feb 28, 2010 Pennsylvania really needs federal government to approve tolls for I-80 (The Morning Call) The commission has been borrowing to make those transfers, hoping to be paid back partly by I-80 tolls. The transportation law, known as Act 44, authorized the commission to boost tolls on the mainline Turnpike and its Northeast Extension by 25 percent in January 2009. An approval by spring could...    more...  

Feb 28, 2010 Next N.J. transit chief faces rough road ahead (The Philadelphia Inquirer) We have to figure out how to keep roads and bridges in good working order at a lower cost. The calculations are based on the average household use of 930 gallons a year. The state shouldn't rely only on a gas-tax increase, Baldwin said.    more...  

Feb 28, 2010 Future of funding for PennDOT uncertain (The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review) Without the revenue from I-80, the turnpike's annual transfers of toll money to PennDOT's coffers will drop from $900 million in 2009 to $450 million this year. Federal funding expired in September, and Congress has passed several resolutions extending funding at 2009 levels.    more...  

Feb 27, 2010 Transit may offer fast travel to Downtown Memphis (The Commercial Appeal) Thad Cochran, R-Miss., $70 million has been earmarked in the transportation bill in a grant to fund an I-69 transit project. The BRT service would continue west on Church Road to U.S. 51 (one mile) and from this intersection to Downtown Memphis (15.4 miles) in an on-street bus lane. The BRT...    more...  

Feb 27, 2010 Missouri road projects stop because of congressional inaction (The Kansas City Star) It passed the Senate but is now facing delays in the House. Missouri was expected to lose $243 million through the end of the federal fiscal year in September. Officials there said the state had only programmed about a third of the money the state could have lost if the problem wasn't fixed.    more...  

Feb 27, 2010 Bike lane over Missouri River among dozen delayed projects (The Kansas City Star) It passed the Senate but is now facing delays in the House.    more...  

Feb 26, 2010 Poll (Asbury Park Press) ...dedicated." Putting the trust back in the trust fund has been an issue since advocates such as Tri-State fought to keep revenues from the gas tax from being diverted to the general fund. Baldwin and other advocates said the only way to do that is to constitutionally dedicate the gas tax...    more...  

Feb 26, 2010 Senate jobs bill meets reluctance over distribution of highway funds (Los Angeles Times) ...-- The Senate jobs bill, passed this week in a rare bipartisan vote, is running into resistance in the House because it is too generous to California and a few other states, critics said. A bipartisan group of House members is complaining that the measure would steer more than half of a...    more...  

Feb 26, 2010 Commissioners spar over 'rail' on transit tax ballot (Tampa Tribune) The original language said that 75 percent of the tax proceeds would fund "a rail rapid transit system and enhanced bus service," and 25 percent would go to roads. That's my challenge to you." Higginbotham said after the meeting he had heard that Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio asked for rail to be taken...    more...  

Feb 26, 2010 Commissioners spar over including 'rail' on transit tax ballot (Tampa Tribune) The original language said that 75 percent of the tax proceeds would fund "a rail rapid transit system and enhanced bus service," while 25 percent would go to roads. That's my challenge to you." Higginbotham said after the meeting he had heard Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio asked that rail be taken out...    more...  

Feb 25, 2010 Black Caucus throws roadblock in front of 'tax-cut' $15 billion job-creation bill (The Hill) Black Caucus members are dismissing a $15 billion jobs bill as inadequate, forcing House leaders to rethink their plan to vote on the measure Friday.Leaders of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) told Democratic leaders Thursday that they didn't support a measure they saw more as a "tax bill"...    more...  

Feb 25, 2010 Toll road may rescue DART's Orange Line from delay (The Dallas Morning News) That shortfall will hold up the first two phases of DART's Orange Line project if utility relocations aren't sped up. One idea includes charging for parking at the planned Belt Line station, but that would ultimately be a DART decision.    more...  

Feb 25, 2010 Sen. Jim Inhofe now backs jobs bill, more state highway money (The Daily Oklahoman) The extension approved Wednesday lasts through the year.    more...  

Feb 25, 2010 Transportation chief says bikes, buses are way to go in D.C. (Washington Post) Traffic in and out of Washington backed up for hours Feb. 12 on snow-blocked roads that had lost a lane or more. Last Friday, they were ticketed by a parking enforcement officer."People were willing to give the city some slack," Maner said. "But to come out and see that? It led Klein to set aside...    more...  

Feb 24, 2010 Some jobs cost more to create than others (USA Today) The Senate passed a $15 billion jobs bill Wednesday that includes tax incentives for hiring and more money for highway construction. The bill goes to the House, which passed a larger jobs measure in December that included highway and education spending.Republicans such as Sen. Judd Gregg of New...    more...  

Feb 24, 2010 McGinn, legislators seek changes to 520 bridge design (The Seattle Times) Such a line, from Overlake to Ballard, might be included in a future ballot measure. But this month, McGinn, House Speaker Frank Chopp of Seattle and other elected officials and community groups said they want to explore a smaller design that includes light rail immediately. Gov. One would allow...    more...  

Feb 23, 2010 Road projects depend on tolls to pave way (The Patriot-News) Rendell took several calculated risks in his 2010-11 state budget, but one of his biggest risks lies in his plan to maintain the state's roads and bridges. Rendell is banking on the placement of tolls on Interstate 80 to generate hundreds of millions of dollars for transportation projects. The...    more...  

Feb 23, 2010 Stimulus highway projects to begin in spring (The Philadelphia Inquirer) The interchange of City Avenue, Lincoln Drive, Kelly Drive, and Ridge Avenue carries about 100,000 vehicles daily. The project will replace two bridges on ramps over Kelly Drive, the bridge carrying Lincoln Drive over Ridge Avenue, and a bridge on the Lincoln Drive ramp to southbound City Avenue....    more...  

Feb 23, 2010 Va. slow to distribute transportation stimulus funds (Richmond Times-Dispatch) Robert C. Scott, D-3rd. Virginia is on track to have federal approval for all its transportation stimulus plans by next month, a program that falls to Gov.    more...