One thing MAP-21 does — something that House and Senate members on both sides of the aisle have been suggesting — is consolidate more than 100 programs in the transportation program down to a more manageable number. (View our graphic showing the consolidation here.)

One of these newly consolidated programs is the National Highway Performance Program (NHPP), which essentially took three current highway and bridge programs — Interstate Maintenance, National Highway System and the Highway Bridge Program — and combined them into one new program. Here’s how we summarized this program after the bill was released.

National Highway Performance Program (NHPP): ~$20.6 billion

This new program focuses on repairing and improving an expanded National Highway System (NHS). The NHS is expanded from ~160,000 miles to ~220,000 miles. States are required to develop asset management plans and as a part of these plans establish performance targets for the condition of roads and bridges and the performance of the system. In addition, the program includes provisions to hold states accountable for the repair of Interstate pavement and NHS bridges by requiring that they spend a certain amount of funding on the repair of those facilities if they fall below minimum standards established by USDOT.

Ok, so what does that mean, exactly? Before we break that down a little bit it’s worth looking at current policy and how it determines how states and localities prioritize repair of our roads and bridges.

Current policy

Under the current policy, states receive money through the Interstate Maintenance program to improve the condition of Interstate highways. States are also provided funds through the Highway Bridge program to rehabilitate and replace deficient bridges, and at least 15% of those dollars must be used on what’s known as “off-system” bridges, which essentially means bridges not on a federal aid highway — like rural minor collector roads or local streets.

One big loophole in the current law is that up to 50 percent of the funds in both of these programs can be transferred to other programs for other purposes. Which means that a state isn’t completely required to prioritize bridge repair ahead of spending on new roadway capacity, even with their bridge repair funds. As an example, a state where 25 percent of its bridges are structurally deficient doesn’t have to knock that total down to 20 percent before they can take bridge repair money and spend it on something else.

Along those same lines, there currently aren’t any performance measures or targets related to infrastructure condition. There’s nothing that establishes targets for the condition of a state’s roads or the sufficiency of their bridges and no measures to hold states accountable to meet before getting the next infusion of cash to expand their system.

MAP-21 policy

MAP-21 makes some serious strides forward in ensuring that “state of good repair” becomes a measurable, concrete priority that states will be held accountable to meeting. One of the proposals that we’ve been supporting that would help move the needle in this direction was Sen. Cardin’s “Preservation and Renewal of Federal-Aid Highways Act.”

The good news is that much of that bill’s language was wholly incorporated into MAP-21, making for a bill that is much stronger on repair than current policy.

Under the Senate’s MAP-21, money for highways and bridges is provided through this new National Highway Performance Program (NHPP) described above. In one of the most promising changes, 60 percent of NHPP funds must be used to repair NHS highways and bridges and cannot be used for new capacity. The NHS is also expanded from the current ~160,000 miles up to ~220,000 miles.

States are required to develop risk-based asset management plans — basically a concrete plan to prioritize the most urgent repairs first and save money by making repairs early and often — to help improve the state of good repair of bridges and highways.

Measuring the condition of our infrastructure is the first step toward doing a better job of maintaining it. Under MAP-21, the USDOT will develop performance measures for the condition of pavement, bridges and the performance of the Interstate and NHS systems. Though the feds will create the measures, states will be responsible for setting, and then meeting, their own performance targets for each measure.

Starting 4 years after MAP-21 is enacted, States must report on how they’re doing with meeting the targets they created. To hold them accountable, if a state is not making progress towards its targets, they must submit a plan to USDOT showing how it will make progress towards it targets.

There’s also a minimum standard that all the states will have to meet for the condition of the interstates and NHS bridges. If states fall below those minimums then they’re required to spend more money (outside of their repair dollars) to meet the minimum condition level.

This isn’t a comprehensive list of all the specific changes that MAP-21 makes for repair and maintenance, but it’s a good outline of the basics. These changes will help move us in the direction of taking care of our existing transportation assets before spending scarce dollars on new things we can’t afford to maintain.

“This incident is powerful evidence that our country’s infrastructure needs cross both party lines and state lines,” said T4 America Director James Corless.

”Thousands of bridges, just like this one, are nearing the end of their designed lifespans and can become structurally deficient at any time, resulting in millions of dollars in repair costs that can quickly sap a state’s budget. Considering the average U.S. bridge is 42 years of age and designed for a 50-year lifespan, stories like this will become more common without aggressive investment in infrastructure and prioritizing repair.”

State officials in Kentucky and Indiana are investigating whether they need to replace the bridge, which would cost upwards of $500 million, according to one estimate, which pales in comparison to what each state spends on bridge repair and maintenance each year overall. Indiana spent only $47 million and Kentucky $136 million on bridge repair in 2008.

“President Obama’s American Jobs Act is exactly the kind of infusion of federal money that’s needed in Kentucky, Indiana and states all across the country facing similar needs and backlogs of deficient bridges. If passed, Kentucky could see $418 million and Indiana could see $650 million in flexible federal transportation dollars to spend on critical needs just like this bridge, which carries as many as 80,000 cars per day. There’s a clear need for the federal government to step up with funding to address these sorts of needs — especially bridges like this that carry a critical interstate highway through a region and connect two states across a river.”

“States also need to be held accountable to address the growing backlog of structurally deficient bridges with their federal transportation dollars,” Corless added. “States can currently spend half of their money dedicated to bridge repair on almost any other type of project. Today the federal program lacks a system to ensure that federal money goes to repair the worst bridges or address the backlog before new highways are built. For example, though Kentucky received $390 million in stimulus dollars and 10 percent of its bridges are structurally deficient, they only spent 26 percent of the stimulus on maintaining their current system, the fourth worst ratio in the country in a study from Smart Growth America.”

“One logical step forward would be Senator Ben Cardin’s Preservation and Renewal of Federal-Aid Highways Act, which would require the Secretary of Transportation to establish “state of good repair” standards for highways that receive federal funding, ensuring that federal dollars are targeted toward the most pressing needs first and holding states accountable for improving the condition of their systems.”

There’s a vital piece of policy that must be included in the Senate bill next week, and there’s not much time to make sure the EPW committee members hear about it.

Earlier this week, Senator Cardin introduced a bill that would make the upkeep of our roads and bridges a top national priority. Now we need to make sure this priority is actually adopted as part of the full transportation bill. With the Senate EPW committee expected to release their draft bill next week, time is short to signal our support for this important legislation. Tell your Senators to sponsor this important bill.

We continue spending limited transportation dollars to build roads we can’t afford to maintain — all while our existing infrastructure cracks and rusts and crumbles due to deferred maintenance. Our next transportation bill needs to ensure that we first and foremost take care of our existing investments, saving us money over the long-term.

Send an email to your Senators and make sure they know that their bill absolutely must prioritize repair.

In the days since our comprehensive bridge report (The Fix We’re In For) was released, at least one governor has promised action and several newspaper editorials have urged their states to prioritize repair and address the growing backlog of deficient bridges.

In Pennsylvania, with the worst bridges in the country, there was little surprise that the report would make big headlines. New Governor Tom Corbett told the Pittsburgh Post Gazette that his transportation secretary will be creating a task force to look at the issue and come up with funding strategies to repair bridges — even telling the Tribune Review he’d consider selling state-owned liquor stores to pay for it. He’s also pledging to continue an accelerated bridge repair program created under former Governor Ed Rendell that has helped in recent years.

Today, the Post Gazette published an editorial on the issue focusing on what the state can do to help move Pennsylvania down the rankings in the coming years.

As if Gov. Tom Corbett doesn’t have enough financial challenges, last week brought a reminder of another problem that is not going away and will only get worse. According to Transportation for America, a coalition of groups working for national transportation reform, Pennsylvania still leads the nation in structurally deficient highway bridges.

What is depressing about this finding issued last Wednesday is that Gov. Ed Rendell made a priority of fixing bridges. By selling bonds and using federal stimulus funding, the Rendell administration did a lot of good work on bridges, without which the situation would be more dire. But, as this report shows, it’s hard to make up for years of neglect…

…The fact that Pennsylvania remains No. 1 in bad bridges can’t be blamed on Mr. Corbett, but the headlines that would come if a Minneapolis-type bridge disaster happened here would be part of his legacy. This latest report is a reminder that finding creative funding for bridges isn’t just a challenge — it’s a necessity.

As the Post Gazette hints at, states have a lot of power within the federal framework to do a better job with repairing their bridges. As our report notes, states aren’t even required to spend all of their bridge repair money on bridges. But a large part of the solution to this problem will come from Congress and the next multi-year transportation bill. That bill must provide more funding for bridge repair and it should hold states accountable for fixing their bridges with that money.

Until then, states with older infrastructure and a large backlog of deficient bridges, like Pennsylvania, will be fighting this battle at a bit of a disadvantage.

(Ed. note: The Times-Picayune in New Orleans offered a similar editorial)

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.

In the midst of the fervor about the House’s budget resolution for 2011 released Friday, and the President’s budget proposal for 2012 dominating the news today, a new bipartisan poll from the Rockefeller Foundation contains compelling arguments from a majority of Americans in favor of increased and accountable investment in transportation.

The poll shows unequivocally that voters from across the political spectrum are tired of bickering and want Congress to seek compromise. And almost nowhere else is their desire for cooperation and solutions greater than with the issue of transportation infrastructure.

Americans largely see investments in transportation as a way to improve the economy and make communities safer, while improving the quality of life for more people. They clearly see a need for reform when it comes to paying for and choosing the transportation projects we need, according to the results.

This poll shows that we believe strongly that providing a safe transportation systems that works is a primary role of our government, and that it should be above partisan divisions, more than most other issues. The Administration’s budget proposal, released this morning, also delivers on the desire reflected in the poll to prioritize the maintenance of what we’ve already built, and for giving local communities more say in how they solve their transportation issues and build for the future.

It’s fitting that the release of this poll is sandwiched between the House’s 2011 plan to gut transportation spending and the Administration’s 2012 plan to invest more money in transportation (within a budget laced with overall cuts). This poll makes it abundantly clear that the House 2011 budget resolution – which would cut support for communities that want better public transportation and safer streets — is at dramatic odds with the desires of a majority of Americans.

Here are some of the detailed top-line findings from the poll:

Should Congress find some way to work together on the issue of transportation? 71 percent of voters say there should be common ground on this issue — higher than other major issues — while 19 percent say leaders should hold fast to their positions, which is lower than other major issues.

The connection between investing and building the economy: Four in five (80 percent) voters agree that federal funding to improve and modernize transportation “will boost local economies and create millions of jobs from construction to manufacturing to engineering.” Just 19 percent disagree with this. 79 percent agree that “in order for the United States to remain the world’s top economic superpower, we need to modernize our transportation infrastructure and keep it up to date.” Only 19 percent disagree.

What should greater investment on transportation net us in the end? What would the benefits be? Voters’ top goal by far is “safer streets for our communities and children.” 57 percent say this should be one of the top-two priorities if more money is invested in infrastructure. The second-highest priority for voters overall (32 percent) is “more transportation options.” In addition, 85 percent agree that “spending less time in traffic would improve quality of life, make communities safer, and reduce stress in people’s daily lives.” Moreover, the vast majority also believe the country (80 percent) and their own community (66 percent) would benefit from an expanded and improved public transportation system.

What should we change about how we invest money in transportation? Two-thirds of respondents favored 9 of 10 reforms offered, with 90 percent supporting more accountability and certification that projects are delivered on time and fit into a national plan. Among the specific reforms to the system that were proposed, 86 percent supported a “fix it first” policy that focuses on maintaining existing transportation systems before building new ones.

This poll was conducted by two Republican and Democratic polling firms from Jan. 29-Feb 6 2011. Disclosure: T4 America is a grantee of the Rockefeller Foundation.

The $556 billion, six-year proposal for transportation reauthorization included in the budget is an ambitious standout in a largely sober blueprint. However, persistent unemployment — particularly in the construction industry — makes the case for forgoing infrastructure cuts in favor of investment. When more Americans are working, paying taxes and putting their dollars back into their communities, the deficit goes down too.

Yonah Freemark from the Transport Politic pointed out that the President’s budget continues the expansion of transportation options.

Though the Administration would increase funding for roads construction from $41 billion in the previous budget to $70 billion, that increase is dwarfed in percentage by proposed spending on transit, which would more than double from $8 billion annually currently to $22 billion. Over six years, spending on capital improvements for public transportation would add up to $119 billion.

Tanya Snyder at Streetsblog Capitol Hill also offered some initial reactions.

As promised, the budget also includes the $53 billion for high-speed rail over six years previewed by Vice President Biden in a speech last week.

True to the overall theme of cuts coupled with smarter investment, the plan consolidates 55 programs into just five and invests $30 billion in a National Infrastructure Bank to provide loans and grants to projects of regional and national significance that promote economic growth. The plan contains no earmarks and cancels a number of them still on the books.

The administration is also highlighting a new $32 billion competitive grant program modeled after the successful Race to the Top program in the U.S. Department of Education. This new approach would create incentives for states and regions to pursue their own innovations that reduce congestion, improve quality of life, make it easier for residents to get to work and recreation and enhance economic prosperity. Details about that program should be forthcoming at the U.S. DOT briefing about the budget this afternoon.

In addition, a “Fix-it-first” policy for highways and transit grants would make repair and maintenance of existing infrastructure a higher priority, a reform that would save lives and save money.

The plan does not specify a revenue source for the increases but “commits to work with Congress to ensure that the funding increases for surface transportation do not increase the deficit.”

The U.S. Department of Transportation is hosting a briefing at 2pm at which point many of these details will be further illuminated. T4 America will be releasing a formal statement early this afternoon.

Photo: AFP/Getty Images

Any plan to create jobs through transportation spending should:

1. Create the greatest number of jobs in the quickest time possible by prioritizing rehabilitation and operation of existing infrastructure and target new workforce development opportunities for people most in need of employment. (i.e., “Fix-it-first.”)
2. Chart a new 21st century direction in transportation policy.
3. Be limited to no more than a year and not replace the long term authorization of the transportation bill.

Click through the jump to read the full letter to the Speaker of the House from Transportation for America and several of our key partners.

Dear Speaker Pelosi,

We applaud your leadership in addressing America’s economic challenges and your desire to address the nation’s unemployment situation.  As organizations that understand how transportation spending both creates jobs and connects people to jobs, we believe any investments that are part of any short-term jobs package should follow three principles:

(1) Create the greatest number of jobs in the quickest time possible by prioritizing rehabilitation and operation of existing infrastructure and target new workforce development opportunities for people most in need of employment. The rehabilitation and operation of existing roads, bridges, rail lines and transit systems are investments that have been proven to create more jobs and get projects underway in the shortest amount of time possible.  Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) that increase operating efficiency of all transportation systems are quick to implement and provide 50% of project costs as direct labor compared to 20% for new highway construction. And significant funding for transit and intercity bus operations in a jobs bill would allow hundreds of public transit agencies all across America to rehire workers and drivers immediately after a jobs bill is signed while reconnecting thousands of people to jobs.

A focus on workforce development would target new transportation construction jobs to the people who need them the most by dedicating one percent of all funding for apprenticeship and construction careers programs in the transportation sector and targeting 30 percent of all construction work hours to local, lower-income workers.

(2) Chart a new 21st century direction in transportation policy. Our federal transportation policy and programs are stuck in the past and are out of touch with a 21st century economy.  We urge a jobs bill to begin to chart a new direction in federal transportation policy by including significant funding for the new TIGER multi-modal discretionary grants program as established in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the TIGGER grants to green and modernize transit vehicles, new investments in new public transit (New starts and formula funding), high speed rail, intercity bus, intelligent transportation systems, and seamless networks of on-road bicycle and pedestrian facilities and trails.

Finally, in order for Congress to lay the groundwork for a new outcome-oriented direction in federal transportation policy in the upcoming legislation, we request a requirement be included for the US Department of Transportation to develop and, within nine months, report on new transportation performance measures to be incorporated into a subsequent [full] transportation authorization.

(3) Be limited to no more than a year and not replace the long term authorization of the transportation bill. Any short-term jobs package for transportation should be limited to no more than one year, providing a strong boost to the American economy in 2010, while making sure this Congress finishes its work on a longer-term transformational transportation authorization bill that can bring our nation’s transportation policy and programs into the 21st century.

The economic challenges we face as a nation face are staggering.  Our organizations applaud your leadership on job creation and we look forward to supporting your efforts in enacting such critical legislation.

Respectfully,

Transportation for America
Reconnecting America (T4A Co-Chair)
Smart Growth America (T4A Co-Chair)
Amalgamated Transit Union
America 2050
America Bikes
American Bus Association (ABA)
Apollo Alliance
Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT)
The Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA)
Conference Of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO)
Environmental Defense Fund (EDF)
Environmental Law and Policy Center (ELPC)
The Federation of State Public Interest Groups (USPIRG)
Gamaliel Foundation
Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITSA)
LOCUS: Responsible Real Estate Developers and Investors
National Coalition for Promoting Physical Activity
National Housing Conference (NHC)
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
Partnership for Prevention
PolicyLink
Rails to Trails National Conservancy (RTC)
Transportation Equity Network (TEN)
Alternatives for the Community and Environment (Massachusetts)
Transit for Livable Communities (Minnesota)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — As the implications of the indefinite closure of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge sunk in Friday, Americans nationwide were reminded of the urgent need to pass a new transportation law that emphasizes the rehabilitation of America’s crumbling roads, bridges and transit systems.

The crisis also highlights the critical need for transportation options. More than 280,000 vehicles cross the Bay Bridge every day and its closure has resulted in a scramble to accommodate commuters on Bay Area buses, subway lines and ferries. Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), the area’s underground subway system, posted record passenger usage this week. As Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff noted Friday, “Thank goodness we had that transit option there.”

“The Bay Bridge closure truly validates California’s decision earlier this year to spend stimulus funding on repair, rather than expansion, of our roadways,” said Carli Paine, transportation program director for TransForm, a Bay Area group. “Implementing a ‘Fix It First’ policy at the federal level would bolster our state’s efforts to maintain and upgrade critical infrastructure by prioritizing and funding these projects.”

Congress could go a long way toward that goal by adopting the Critical Asset Investment Program contained in the current draft federal transportation bill. This program, drafted by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, would create a substantial, dedicated funding stream for maintaining roads and bridges, preventing states from diverting those funds to more politically popular highway expansion projects.

“Rebuilding America’s transportation system is not only needed to keep us safe, but it is an economic imperative as well,” said James Corless, director of Transportation for America. T4 America is working closely with its coalition partners, House Transportation Committee Chairman James Oberstar, Ranking Member John Mica, and members of Congress to ensure the next federal transportation bill prioritizes fixing existing infrastructure.

“Americans can’t afford to waste anymore time in traffic jams and detours because we haven’t made the proper investments in maintaining our infrastructure and providing the options that keep people from being stranded, whether by broken facilities or soaring gas prices,” said Corless.

There are many problems with this question, but even with the false framing of this debate, results are currently split near the 50/50 mark. The most glaring issue with the poll is that it makes it seem like there’s something written in stone determining that federal transportation money is “roads” money — instead of money that should be spent on whatever can best keep us moving and give us the most bang for our buck.

Spending money on public transportation or other transportation options won’t prevent us from repairing and maintaining our existing roads and bridges. In fact, our roads and bridges aren’t in poor shape because we don’t spend enough on roads overall — it’s because we’ve neglected to maintain our existing roadways and instead spent taxpayer dollars on more new roads and highways, whether or not these were the best investments of our transportation dollars

Regardless of where we’ve spent money in the past or “what we used to do,” people are ready for something different.

Rather than asking Americans if we should “take” money from roads, what happens when you ask Americans a more basic questions: “Where should we spend our transportation money?”

Earlier this year, Transportation for America and the National Association of Realtors did just that in our own poll. (Background on the poll here and here). The bottom line? An overwhelming majority of Americans believe restoring existing roads and bridges and expanding transportation options should take precedence over road-building alone.

I’m going to mention types of transportation, and I’d like you to tell me which one or two you think are not getting enough attention and emphasis from the federal government.

Many communities experience traffic congestion. I’m going to read you two statements about traffic congestion and I’d like you to tell me which of these is closer to your view: A) Some people say that we need to build more roads and expand existing roads to help reduce traffic congestion. B) Some people say that we need to improve public transportation, including trains and buses, and make it easier to walk and bike to help reduce traffic congestion. Which of these is closer to your view?

Which of the following proposals is the best long-term solution to reducing traffic in your area?

As the federal government makes its plans for transportation funding in 2009, which ONE of the following should be the top priority?