All posts from the month of March 2011
Today’s Headlines – 3/31/11
March 31, 2011By Transportation for America
The condition of America’s bridges continued to receive renewed attention both nationwide and in many states. (Reuters, AP, Los Angeles Times)
White House and GOP leaders are in talks on a budget deal that would cut $33 billion. (The Hill)
Forty transportation experts testified before a key House committee this week. (Streetsblog Capitol Hill)
Sales for fuel-efficient vehicles are stagnant despite the hike in gas prices. (USA Today)
Milwaukee County is America’s most segregated, due in part to policies that perpetuate sprawl. (Streetsblog Capitol Hill)
And, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa joined Senator Barbara Boxer, Representative John Mica and business and labor leaders in pushing his 30/10 transportation proposal. (LA Times)
T4 America co-chair John Robert Smith tells key House subcommittee to repair infrastructure and invest in transit options
March 30, 2011By Sean Barry
T4 America co-chair John Robert Smith encouraged members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to enact “bold new policy” to repair our nation’s crumbling infrastructure, increase transit options and demand accountability for results, in testimony delivered on Capitol Hill today.
Smith, the former 16-year Republican mayor of Meridian, Mississippi and President and CEO of Reconnecting America, was one of 40 transportation experts testifying before the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit this week.
Pointing to today’s release of our report assessing the condition of the nation’s bridges, Smith emphasized T4 America’s dual mission of repairing the infrastructure we have while building a transportation system for the 21st century.
He spoke about his own experience leading Meridian and seeing first-hand how improved transportation options improve quality of life in smaller cities and rural areas. “It may come as a surprise to some, but Americans who live in small towns have the same transportation needs as those that live in big cities,” Smith said. “They need access to their jobs, healthcare, education and services. Long commutes, rising gas prices, and shifting demographics all impact the prosperity of these communities and the people that live in them.”
During his tenure as mayor, Smith leveraged a mix of public and private investment to restore Meridian’s historic train station and build the South’s first multimodal transportation center. The station was “a catalyst for transforming our main street, increasing public transportation ridership, and helping to generate millions of dollars in private economic development in the surrounding neighborhoods,” he told the Subcommittee.
“Livability” has become a loaded and sadly partisan term in Congress, but as Smith pointed out, it describes something that really shouldn’t be controversial at all. He said:
When I came to Washington, D.C. almost two years ago, I realized as I heard this new word, livability, that that was just what we were doing in Meridian. The transit connections and ensuing economic development that occurred in my sixteen years as Mayor were empowering people to make decisions without being hindered by distance and gas prices. You can put whatever label on it you want – but people should be able to live where they want to live, work where they want to work, and get there in a cost-efficient and timely manner.
Congress has the opportunity to heed Mayor Smith’s vision for repair, increased options and higher quality of life as the Subcommittee and full Committee consider a six-year, transportation reauthorization in the coming months.
You can read Mayor Smith’s entire testimony here.
New report highlights mounting challenge of aging bridges
March 30, 2011By Transportation for America
One in 9 rated “structurally deficient” as average age nears 50 years. In state rankings, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma and Iowa have largest backlog of deficient bridges
WASHINGTON, D.C. – One in nine of the bridges and overpasses American drivers cross each day is rated in poor enough condition that they could become dangerous or be closed without near-term repair, according to a report released today by Transportation for America.
Nearly 70,000 bridges nationwide are rated “structurally deficient” and are in need of substantial repair or replacement, according to federal data. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) estimates that the backlog of potentially dangerous bridges would cost $70.9 billion to eliminate, while the federal outlay for bridges amounts to slightly more than $5 billion per year.
The report, The Fix We’re In For: The State of the Nation’s Bridges, ranks states in terms of the overall condition of the state’s bridges, with one being the worst, 51 being the best. Twenty-three states across the country have a higher percentage of deficient bridges than the national average of 11.5 percent.
The five states with the worst bridge conditions have over 20 percent structurally deficient bridges: Pennsylvania has the largest share of deteriorating bridges at 26.5 percent, followed by Oklahoma (22.0%), Iowa (21.7%), Rhode Island (21.6%), and South Dakota (20.3%).
At the other end of the spectrum, five states have less than 5 percent of their bridges rated structurally deficient: Nevada leads the rankings at 2.2 percent, followed by Florida (2.4%), Texas (3.0%), Arizona (3.0%), and Utah (4.5%). The table on the bottom of the main report page shows all 50 states and the District of Columbia ranked by their percentage of structurally deficient bridges, with “1” being the worst conditions and “51” the best.
“Since the 2007 collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis, Americans have been acutely aware of the critical need to maintain our bridges,” said James Corless, director of Transportation for America. That need is growing rapidly, the report authors noted, as the average age of bridges passes 42 years for bridges that mostly were designed to have a 50-year lifespan before reconstruction or replacement.
“As Congress takes up the next six-year transportation bill, it is imperative that we devote a larger share of funding to protecting our bridges” Corless said. “Americans also want to see more accountability for maintaining our infrastructure: 64 percent of voters say that the way government currently spends money on building and maintaining our transportation infrastructure is inefficient and unwise, according to a February poll for the Rockefeller Foundation.”
Hit the jump to see the full state rankings
(Continue Reading)
National report and interactive map shows the state of our nation’s bridges
March 30, 2011By Stephen Lee Davis
69,223 bridges – representing more than 11 percent of all U.S. highway bridges – are classified as “structurally deficient,” requiring significant maintenance, rehabilitation or replacement, according to a new T4 America report released today, The Fix We’re In: The State of Our Nation’s Bridges.
Those are the facts, and 69,000 bridges sure sounds like a lot, but what does that look like in real terms? Where are these bridges? Does your city or state have a lot of deficient bridges, or does the state do a good job taking care of them? Those questions are going to be much easier to answer with our online tools accompanying the report, launching today at t4america.org/resources/bridges.
We’ve taken the whole federal bridge database and put it online in a map, so you can type your address, and see all the bridges within a ten-mile radius. Structurally deficient bridges will show up as red icons. Click any bridge and you’ll get more information about it, including its rating in a box on the right.
Curious about how your state stacks up? Click on “By State” and click your state to see a quick overview of their performance, including the best and worst five counties, as well as their rank nationally and total percentage of structurally deficient bridges.
The national report and all 51 state reports are being officially released today at noon with a national telebriefing, but you can go ahead and check out the map and data now on our site. (Media members? Contact david.goldberg@t4america.org if you want information on the telebriefing.)
Check out the map today and please spread the word about it. We’ll be posting several times throughout the day with more information about the national report, which is available for download now — as well as reports for all 50 states and D.C.
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Today’s Headlines – 3/30/11
March 30, 2011By Transportation for America
Both parties are preparing for the fallout from an expected government shutdown, with some Republicans attempting to reframe it as a “slowdown.” (TPM, The Hill)
The New York Times editorialized against Republican rigidity in budget negotiations. (NYT)
House and Senate differences over the aviation bill could foretell similar divisions when surface transportation is considered. (Streetsblog Capitol Hill)
Senator Dick Durbin asked Secretary Ray LaHood, a fellow Illinoisan, to protect key transportation projects in their state from cuts. (Chicago Sun-Times)
In a move surprising to some, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is applying for federal funding for the existing Milwaukee to Chicago rail line. (AP)
And, Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s administration is defending New York City bike lanes with vigor. (NYT)
Kerry-Hutchison-Warner infrastructure bank would leverage private investment for revenue-generating projects
March 29, 2011By Sean Barry
This month, a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators introduced a variation of the national infrastructure bank touted by President Obama.
The BUILD Act is sponsored by Senator John Kerry, the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee from Massachusetts; Texas Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison; and Virginia Democrat Mark Warner, a former governor with a history of prioritizing transportation infrastructure.
The infrastructure bank would start out with $10 billion, with the goal of generating private investment to match the federal commitment. Leveraging private capital is a recurring theme in discussions about transportation finance and a notable point of agreement between President Obama and House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica.
While the plan resembles what the President had proposed, the Kerry-Hutchison-Warner bill would only include loans, not grants. Only revenue-generating projects would be funded, a concession Kerry has said is necessary due to the current political appetite for less domestic spending. The bank would operate independently of the U.S. Department of Transportation.
In an enthusiastic endorsement of the proposal, the New York Times editorialized that the bank would allow officials with limited resources to pursue needed repairs.
By providing low-cost capital to states, cities and authorities, the bank would help these strapped governments kick-start projects that are now unaffordable, while attracting investments from pension and private-equity funds that are looking for stable money-generating ventures in which to invest.
The Times also put the proposal into a broader context, citing the very real possibility of future tragedy absent the proper maintenance, and the misplaced priorities of tax cuts over investment.
…already conservatives are railing against what some have called a “boondoggle,” a phrase used to demonize virtually any public investment. What will these opponents tell voters when the dams break and the bridges fall? Before more lives are lost, lawmakers should ask themselves whether they used their public office only to slash spending (and taxes for the wealthy), or to spend money wisely.
A recent Boston Globe op-ed authored by former Massachusetts homeland security adviser Juliette Kayyem also made a strong case for the bank, and Streetsblog covered the bill’s release here.
Photo courtesy of the Center for American Progress.
Today’s Headlines – 3/29/11
March 29, 2011By Transportation for America
A government shutdown has increased in probability. (WSJ)
Neither Democrats not Republicans have a clear edge with the public on the politics of a shutdown, according to a new poll. (CNN)
The budget standoff has put funding the DC Metro system at risk. (WP)
A piece of concrete fell of a Detroit bridge early this morning. (Click On Detroit)
Joseph Stiglitz, a past Clinton administration official and chief economist at the World Bank, explained his refusal to sign a letter endorsing deficit reduction. (Politico)
And, conservative supporters of high-speed rail are holding a Virginia event next week. (The Hill)
New report assessing the condition of our nation’s bridges coming Wednesday
March 28, 2011By Stephen Lee Davis
A report being released Wednesday by T4 America chronicles the state of our nation’s bridges, with accompanying data and reports for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Our country is facing a backlog of deficient bridges that need repairs and maintenance to stay open and safe, with needs far greater than what we’re currently spending.
If you’ve been paying attention to stories about our infrastructure at any time in the last few years, it won’t come as a surprise to you that our transportation infrastructure isn’t in the best shape. Every year, headlines are made when the American Society of Civil Engineers rates our roads or bridges with grades that we’d ground our children for bringing home on their report cards. Most of the year, though, transportation infrastructure isn’t at the forefront of our minds, even though we depend on it every day.
But no event in recent memory jolted us into paying attention quite like the collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis three years ago this summer. After that event, there was renewed interest in assessing the condition of our bridges from governors demanding audits down to everyday drivers avoiding deficient bridges. But as the months went by, we went right back to taking these vital pieces of infrastructure for granted. So where do we stand today, almost three years later?
Wednesday’s report will answer questions such as:
- How many bridges are in urgent need of repairs or maintenance?
- What states are the best and worst when it comes to the condition of their bridges?
- What counties in each state are the best and worst?
- How much money are we spending on repairing our bridges, and is it enough?
- Are we fixing our existing bridges before we spend money on new roads and highways?
We’ve already released the state-level reports in California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota and South Dakota. The rest of the states will be released on Wednesday with the national report, as well as a nifty interactive mapping tool that will allow you to find all the bridges near you and see how they rate. Check right here on Wednesday morning first thing for the report and the interactive mapping tools. Follow us on Twitter to get a stream of statistics about bridges throughout the week.
Reporter or media? Email David Goldberg for information about the national telebriefing and report details.
Today’s Headlines – 3/28/11
March 28, 2011By Transportation for America
A government shutdown remains a possibility in two weeks, as Democrats and Republicans remain far apart on the budget. (National Journal)
South Dakota’s bridges are among the nation’s worst maintained, according to T4 America’s new report, while Florida’s are among the best. (Sioux Falls Argus Leader, Tampa Tribune)
1 in 8 bridges in California’s growing Central Valley is currently rated as structurally deficient. (Fresno Bee)
Several transit advocates will testify before the House transportation committee this week. (Streetsblog Capitol Hill)
Nassau County is still slated to cut half of its bus routes, a major blow to transit riders. (NYT)
And, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office suggested a vehicle-miles-traveled tax as a potential revenue source. (New American)
Today’s Headlines – 3/25/11
March 25, 2011By Transportation for America
More than 500 attended a Hofstra University hearing on Long Island Bus, with many saying the service was a lifeline. (Tri-State Transportation Campaign Blog)
A key New York Republican on the House transportation committee says he opposes high-speed rail in his homestate. (Corning Leader)
The Los Angeles transportation authority approved elimination of nine lines and reductions to 11. (LA Times)
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick asked transportation officials for clarity on last month’s Big Dig light fixture crash. (Boston Globe)
And, Ohio’s new transportation chief is veteran of the asphalt industry. (Streetsblog Capitol Hill)
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- The more they see, the less they like: 10 reasons why opposition to the House transportation bill is growing
February 21, 2012 - Crucial amendment could improve Senate bill, restore local control and help make streets safer
February 14, 2012 - Oppose House bill that slashes public transit funding, falls short on repair and axes bike & pedestrian safety
February 7, 2012 - T4 coalition announces opposition to House energy and transportation bill
February 6, 2012 - House committee ignores broad opposition, decimates transit funding anyway
February 3, 2012
- The more they see, the less they like: 10 reasons why opposition to the House transportation bill is growing
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