AASHTO today released its "Bottom Line" report which spells out highway and transit investment requirements over the next six years. The report says that by 2015, governments at all levels will need to more than double their spending on highways and bridges to keep up with increased traffic, freight congestion, the demands of aging highways and bridges, and the growth of the nation's population. Transit spending would need to quadruple to serve increased ridership.
The report points out that federal, state and local governments spent $79 billion on highways and bridges in 2006 and that investment of $166 billion per year is required if the number of miles driven increases at an expected rate of 1.4 percent a year. If transit ridership grows annually by its current 3.5 percent rate, the report indicates an annual investment of $59 billion will be necessary compared to the $13.3 billion investment level in 2006.
House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee Chairman Jim Oberstar participated in the release of the report. He said that drafting of a new reauthorization bill is moving along and that he fully intends to have the bill reported out of the T&I Committee by the end of May. He indicated that floor time has been set aside the first week in June to consider the bill. The chairman said he does not support temporary extensions of the program past the September 30 deadline.
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