Transportation infrastructure a hot topic at National Governors Association meeting

Jeff Berman, Senior Editor -- Logistics Management, 2/25/2008

WASHINGTON—In recent weeks, the topic of improving transportation infrastructure in the United States has received a fair amount of attention.

Recent examples of this include Presidential candidate Barack Obama calling for the establishment of a National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank that would invest $60 billion over a ten year period for highways, technology, and other projects. Another example is the January report by the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission, which focused on the current state of surface transportation in the U.S. and addressed ways to improve transportation infrastructure improvements needed to meet the expected demand in future domestic freight transportation growth.

The most recent example came yesterday at the winter meeting of the National Governors Association, when several governors called on President Bush, Congress, and Presidential candidates to support a major spending program to take steps to repair U.S. roads, bridges, rail lines, and water systems, according to a report from the San Francisco Chronicle.

And as is the case with any transportation infrastructure initiative, money—or the lack thereof—is an issue, with the Chronicle reporting that Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell noted that for significant progress to occur, Congress would need to approve a new economic stimulus package with $25-to-$30 billion allocated for infrastructure projects.

Rendell, along with California Governor Arnold Schwarznegger and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, established the “Build America’s Future” Coalition last month, which is described as a non-partisan coalition for federal infrastructure investment. The coalition is made up of state- and locally-elected officials focused on becoming a source of best practices on infrastructure funding issues, according to a coalition statement.

While Rendell called for $25-$30 billion in the form of a stimulus package, the coalition estimates that the U.S. infrastructure needs total more than $1 trillion. Governor Schwarznegger said that America needs $1.6 trillion worth of infrastructure over the next five years, but he added that federal investment has been cut in half as a percent of gross domestic product since 1987.  

This projection is inline with the American Society of Civil Engineers analysis that national infrastructure needs will exceed more than $1 trillion over the next five years. And according to the coalition federal infrastructure spending has average 3.5 to 4 percent of total non-defense expenditures over the last 20 years. 

Governor Rendell’s Press Secretary Chuck Ardo told LM that this infrastructure has been a top priority in his office long before the campaign season.

“Governor Rendell has been putting a focus on Pennsylvania’s infrastructure needs for some time,” said Ardo. “We have more bridges in Pennsylvania that are deficient—or at least categorized as so—than any other state in the Union. And between that and the fact that our roads needs maintenance and our mass transit systems need investment, the Governor has been very active in promoting infrastructure investment.”

Ardo also said that Governor Rendell is a strong proponent of a massive infrastructure program that could serve as a stimulus program, noting that Rendell believes nothing could be better for the nation’s economy than providing family-sustaining jobs at a time when the economy is declining. And at the same time, he said this would provide a much-needed benefit to the country as a whole.

While Obama, the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission’s report and the “Build America’s Future” Coalition have called for needed capital for infrastructure, White House Press Secretary Dana Perino told the Associated Press that it was not included in the recently-passed economic stimulus package because she said President Bush maintains it is not a “stimulative way to get the economy going.”

Despite Bush’s coolness to increased infrastructure spending, Department of Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters praised the coalition’s efforts, saying it was right to call for a fundamentally new federal approach when it comes to transportation products that puts an end to wasteful earmarks, polluting traffic jams and politically driven investments that disregard the needs of commuters and shippers.

“From a goods movement point of view, it is vital to have sufficient infrastructure in place to move goods through the supply chain,” said Leslie Blakey, executive director, Coalition for America’s Gateways and Trade Corridors, in an interview. “This issue has come up a number of times in the past…and I do think a lot of states have been successful with using their state-based infrastructure fund banks as a vehicle, and there is no reason why we should not be looking at this from the national level to spur bigger projects to be built. There is a sense of urgency to get things built due to future freight projections. This coalition will encourage the Presidential candidates—and other candidates throughout the country—to look at how are we going to get all sorts of needed infrastructure built…as it becomes a hotter and hotter issue in the political environment. If we keep waiting for it to happen, we won’t get there.”