SOTU followup: Does transportation offer a glimmer of bipartisan hope?
As we noted in our statement after the State of the Union address Tuesday night, it was good to hear the President again cite the need to steer new revenue toward “rebuilding our roads, upgrading our ports, unclogging our commutes”. He didn’t say much beyond that, of course, but given other developments in the background, we have reason to be somewhat encouraged.
Cities are “laboratories of innovation.” Should they have more control of transportation funding?
That was the implied assertion made by Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed in a widely-circulated op-ed last week on Huffington Post. But is it accurate to paint today’s debate over this point as a black-and-white “age-old tug of war between state transportation officials and their city-level counterparts” about doling out money, as National Journal did in a question to their panel of transportation experts? Or is the problem more that we’re entering a new age of transportation needs armed with the last era’s transportation policies?
Statement in response to President Obama’s call for transportation investment in the State of the Union address
Responding to President Obama’s call to steer new revenue toward “rebuilding our roads, upgrading our ports, unclogging our commutes”, Transportation for America Director James Corless issued this statement.
Our Can-Do Places series continues: Denver
Faced with potential employers suggesting that the lack of transit connections were preventing Denver from realizing their economic development goals, the region’s leaders banded together and made a bold bet on an ambitious and comprehensive plan to expand their transportation network a decade ago.
Graphic: Comparing the 2014 bipartisan budget to 2013
Congress passed the first full budget in three years last night after the Senate vote that will provide stable or increased funding for key programs we’ve been fighting for over the last few years. Take a look at this graphic which shows the good news for transportation in this 2014 budget compared to FY2013 figures post-sequestration.
Cuts restored, progress possible in critical budget deal
Positive news from Congress today! Yes, you heard right. Just months after budget sequestration and a government shutdown put transportation funding at risk, House leaders have agreed to a budget deal that would provide stable or increased funding for key programs that you’ve helped us defend over the last few years.
In 2013, 20-plus states took up transportation funding: Here’s the final tally
With a large number of state legislatures convening as the new year gets underway, it’s worth a look back at an important trend from 2013: States stepping forward to raise additional money for transportation. With federal funding remaining flat in 2012′s transportation bill (MAP-21) and after years of deferred action during the long recession, a large number of states, metro areas and local communities moved to supplement federal dollars with new revenues of their own.
T4 brings mayors to Washington to tell Secretary Foxx about the importance of passenger rail
T4America brought together a group of mayors to visit with U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx — a former mayor himself — and deliver a message about the importance of passenger rail to the economies of those communities they represent.
Budget deal avoids automatic cuts; focus shifts to appropriations committees
Barring a successful rebellion within one party or the other, it looks like Congress may have the first bipartisan budget agreement since 2010. That is good news for the economy, and it is especially welcome where transportation infrastructure is concerned.
Business, civic and elected leaders from across the country call on Congress to boost and refocus transportation funding
Kicking off a new push to rejuvenate the nation’s investment in transportation, business and civic leaders from cities, towns and suburbs across the country came together Tuesday to urge Congress to help them innovate and build the infrastructure needed for today’s economy.
Watch live today as we launch a new alliance of #CanDoLeaders
Today, we’re launching the next phase of T4 America: A new alliance of business, elected, and civic leaders from cities, towns and suburbs across the nation. The new alliance kicks off today: Tune in this morning to the live webcast, which goes live at 8:30 a.m. eastern time.
We’re starting something new! Join us next week for a kickoff event
For the past five years, Transportation for America has worked with advocates, allies and supporters like you to urge Congress to make smarter investments in America’s transportation system. This week, we’re starting something new. We want you to join us for the kick-off event. No matter where you live, watch the live webcast of the event here.
Government shutdown or not, more cuts are in store for transportation
Whether or not Congress can reach an agreement in time to prevent a government shut-down before tomorrow, one thing is clear: shut-down or not, this next fiscal year (FY14) will be a year of more cuts — including cuts to transportation.
Amendments offered to improve the already solid Senate yearly transportation funding bill
Already standing in sharp contrast to the House’s approach to funding transportation for the next fiscal year, leaders in the Senate are working to further improve the smart Senate transportation funding bill through a handful of amendments to the bill as it reaches the floor.
As the House aims to slash, tell the Senate to protect money for rail, transit & TIGER in next week’s budget vote
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While the House plan for transportation slashes money for passenger rail, new transit construction and innovative TIGER grants, a Senate committee has drafted a budget that increases funding for new transit construction, keeps and expands TIGER, provides support for Amtrak and passenger rail improvements, and funds a new grant program to jumpstart progress on repairing critical bridges.
Key Senate committee recognizes the importance of passenger rail, TIGER, transit and repairing our nation’s bridges
Less than a week after the release of The Fix We’re In For — our report on the nation’s bridges showing that one in nine US bridges are structurally deficient — a key Senate committee passed a yearly funding bill that provides new money for repairing these deficient bridges across the country.
Highlights from the great coverage of our bridge report
It’s easy to be cynical about our often frivolous media environment these days, but it is heartening to see the seriousness with which outlets of all sizes are treating reports about the need to maintain our aging bridges and other infrastructure. In addition to dozens of newspaper and web reports, more than 500 broadcast outlets have picked up yesterday’s release of the “The Fix We’re in For”, the 2013 edition of our report on bridge conditions nationwide.
The backlog of our country’s deficient bridges is indeed shrinking, but barely
We hope you had a chance to check out our new report yesterday on the state of our nation’s bridges? 1 in 9 US bridges — about 66,500 in total — are rated structurally deficient and in urgent need of repairs, maintenance or even replacement. This is an updated version of the data we released two years ago, and the findings are much the same: Everyday, Americans of all different stripes drive across these deficient bridges, with more than 260 million trips taken each day on these bridges. And though we’ve gotten about 0.5 percent better nationally in the last two years, from 11.5 to 11 percent total deficient, that’s only a difference of about 2,400 deficient bridges.
Release: New report highlights mounting challenge of aging bridges, ranks states
One in nine of the bridges and overpasses American drivers cross each day is rated in poor enough condition that some could become dangerous or be closed without near-term repair, according to an updated analysis of federal data released today by Transportation for America. Nearly 67,000 of the nation’s 605,000 bridges are rated “structurally deficient” and are in need of substantial repair or replacement, according to bridge inspections analyzed in The Fix We’re In For: The State of the Nation’s Bridges 2013. Nearly 8,000 are both structurally deficient and “fracture critical”, meaning they are designed with no redundancy in their key structural components, so that if one fails the bridge could collapse. The Federal Highway Administration estimates that the backlog of troubled bridges would cost $76 billion to eliminate.
One in 9 bridges still “structurally deficient” as average age nears 50 years
One in nine of the bridges and overpasses American drivers cross each day is rated in poor enough condition that some could become dangerous or be closed without near-term repair, according to our new 2013 report on the nation’s bridges. Lay them all end-to-end and you could drive from Mexico to Canada across the US on one long deficient bridge. Don’t miss our new 2013 report and interactive map.
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