Future of new, long-term surface transportation reauthorization remains on a road to nowhere

Regardless of the date or year, one thing is beyond consistent when it comes to key themes in freight transportation logistics: the state of United States highways and related transportation infrastructure is in an eternal state of chaos and disrepair.

OK, you can argue that “chaos” might be too strong of a term, but, honestly, it really is not all that far off either.

How so? Well, in about 25 days the time is up for most recent band-aid extension (for two months that expires at the end of this month) for federal surface transportation authorization again expires.

That probably sounds familiar, rather than a full blown case of déjà vu, and it is not really all that hard to see why either. The reason being is that the most recent two month extension, continuing resolution in political speak, or whatever it should be called is the 33rd one that has been enacted since the last actual multi-year bill SAFETEA-LU, expired back in 2009.

As has been previously reported in this space and in the pages of Logistics Management, while these extensions keep funding at the same levels, with the Highway Trust Fund essentially insolvent, current state of U.S. transportation infrastructure remains in a constant state of disrepair.

This was firmly highlighted by a recent DOT entitled “Beyond Traffic,” which cited various troubling findings regarding the current state of U.S. transportation infrastructure were revealed, including: drivers spend more than 40 hours per year stuck in traffic; 65 percent of the roads they drive on are in less than good condition; one of four bridges they cross needs to be replaced; over the next 30 years, Americans will ask more out of the country’s transportation than ever before, while the country’s population will grow by 70 million, and freight traffic will increase by 45 percent.

In the grand political theater, also known as our nation’s Congress, these things simply appear to get swept under the rug, time and time again, so much, in fact, that it borderlines on the comical or absurd (or both, really, so no need to pick one).

While the potholes get bigger and the traffic delays get longer, we are getting a huge dose of new forms of legislation and talk from our elected officials about ways to fix this ongoing and growing problem and issue.

Yes, it is nice to see the words en masse, especially, with time running out, again, on the most recent extension, but are we really ever going to see renewed and actual action? It appears to be a legitimate question, but one we really should not need to ask at this point, given the ongoing inactivity from our elected officials.

Even with so many good ideas for how to make things like freight corridors a priority and give increased attention to funding mechanisms in the form of infrastructure banks, transportation grants, the beyond simple and sensible notion of indexing the fuel tax (which has not been raised since 1993), dedicating funds from corporate tax reform to pay for surface transportation (also known as repatriation) and a proposed streamlining of infrastructure permitting processes, among others are out there and open for debate and consideration.

But the thing is none of this is happening with anything close to resembling a sense of urgency or getting a new long-term bill done with any type of a true sense of priority or importance. Instead, unfortunately, it again is a matter of a new bill having to take a number and get in line, once again. As someone (make that many) has said, “it would be funny if it was not so depressing.”

What’s more, we Americans are electing a new President next year, and you know what that means: that only increases the odds of a new bill not being passed….which leaves us basically where we have been for a long time-in an ongoing state of flux when it comes to the future of a new, long-term transportation authorization.

The Talking Heads once talked about being on a “Road to Nowhere.” By all accounts, we are still on it, and it looks like our elected officials continue to be out for a joyride instead of a final destination.