T4 co-chair John Robert Smith talking transportation at the White House
The White House film crew talked to T4 America co-chair and President of Reconnecting America John Robert Smith last week about the need to invest in transportation, following our recent meeting with the President and other groups. Check out the short video below.
Summary of the Senate MAP-21 transportation bill proposal
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee released a draft of the transportation bill late last Friday. We’ve prepared a few pages on what this draft bill propose to do to the federal transportation program. This is a bit on the wonky side, but hopefully you will find it helpful if you’re trying to summarize the 600 pages of bill text. One of the most visible changes MAP-21 makes is to restructure seven core highway programs and 13 formula programs into just five core programs.
Senate EPW Committee releases their bill text
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee released text of their portion of the transportation bill late last Friday evening. Our staff is still chewing through the details of the 600 pages and we hope to have some sort of analysis and statement ready later today. It’s a good time to remember that this committee […]
T4 partners meet President Obama, talk about transportation and infrastructure
Three T4 America partners were invited to join us at the White House Monday to meet the President of the United States and talk about transportation funding, specifically the infrastructure portion of the President’s American Jobs Act. The President’s plan, which failed to make it to a final vote yesterday in the Senate, would have invested $60 […]
AP says attacks on transportation enhancements are “exaggerated and misrepresented”
On Friday, we highlighted the disingenuous attempt from some in Congress to tie the need to repair our bridges to the elimination of a tiny program to make it safer to walk or bike on our streets and roads. Senators Rand Paul of Kentucky, Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and John McCain of Arizona have been […]
A real plan to fix bridges, or a reprise of attacks on pedestrian safety?
Our reports calling attention to our nation’s deficient bridges have gained enormous traction in recent weeks, to the point that members of Congress and the White House are citing our data in demonstrating the need for infrastructure investment. Unfortunately, some are using them to make disingenuous attempts to eliminate a small program they’ve been trying […]
With Congress in limbo, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder puts promising transportation ideas on the table
More state and local officials are coming to grips with the fact that they cannot wait for Washington to act on infrastructure investment and repair. After two years of short-term extensions, a new transportation bill may or may not happen in the next six months. From a vantage point closer to their constituents, local leaders […]
Events across the country last week bring sense of urgency to bridge repair
Many communities are taking a close look at Transportation for America’s deficient bridge rankings by metro areas released last week. People are telling their representatives to invest in our infrastructure — and Washington is listening, with President Obama and rank-and-file members of Congress expressing urgency about repairing our crumbling assets. At an event held at the […]
Update on Raquel Nelson: petition delivered to Cobb County
UPDATE below. More than 5,200 of you signed our petition to push for freedom for the Atlanta mother who was charged in her son’s death when he was killed by a hit-and-run driver while crossing a street in front of their apartment complex. Raquel Nelson is due back in court next week, but we wanted […]
New Report Ranks Deficient Bridges by Metro Areas
This new report from T4 America ranks metropolitan areas on the condition of their bridges, and finds that more than 18,000 bridges in our largest metropolitan areas are rated “structurally deficient.” This new look at the bridge data from earlier in 2011 finds that just a quarter of deficient U.S. bridges, located in these 102 metropolitan areas over 500,000 people, carry 75 percent of all traffic crossing a deficient bridge each day.
Transit benefit once again slated to be cut in half — tell Congress to move
Last November, we posted an action alert on the potential for millions of Americans to see the cost of their commute suddenly rise. Congress wisely chose to extend to $230 per month tax benefit for transit as part of the 2010 package extending the Bush tax cuts, continuing transit parity with the $230 deduction available […]
T4’s Andrea Kiepe writes about reaction to Minneapolis bridge collapse, potential for making repair a priority
T4 America’s Minnesota Field Organizer Andrea Kiepe penned a moving piece for the Infrastructurist this week about how the tragic Minneapolis bridge collapse four years motivates her work for transportation reform and investment today. It’s a timely subject too, given the recent decision by the governors of Kentucky and Indiana to shut down the Sherman […]
Proposal to fix bridges by taking away safety money won’t solve the problem
Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) got a lot of play in the media for joining President Obama in Kentucky last week and unveiling his own plan to prioritize bridge repair by taking away a tiny amount of funding that helps improve safety for people walking or biking and redirecting it to bridge repair. But Senator Paul’s proposal is built on a series of false premises.
Oklahoma mayor stands up for investing in infrastructure
Oklahoma City mayor voices his support for the President’s efforts to bring the condition of U.S. infrastructure into the spotlight. John Robert Smith, our T4 America co-chair and former Mayor of Meridian, Miss., is fond of saying that there are no Republican or Democrat potholes or bridges or roads. Fixing and updating our country’s transportation […]
President Obama’s Ohio visit again highlights the vast and growing need to address America’s aging and deficient bridges
President Obama’s visit to the Brent Spence Bridge bordering Ohio and Kentucky today calls much-needed attention to the urgency of bridge repair and rehabilitation throughout the country. Those needs are clearly visible in these detailed state-by-state reports and county level bridge data — including an interactive, searchable map of every deficient bridge in America.
Today is the “Don’t X Out Public Transportation” day of action
15 events around the country today highlight the devastating impact of the House’s initial transportation proposal that would make a 35 percent cut to public transportation. Today is the “Don’t X Out Public Transportation” day of action to highlight the crippling impacts of the proposed 35 percent cut to public transit. The events are being held in 15 cities in cooperation with the American Public Transportation Association and a number of key partners to let Congress know that deep cuts mean Americans losing their jobs or their ability to get to their jobs, as well as groceries and essential services.
In wake of Ohio River bridge closure, NBC Nightly News examines the sorry state of U.S. bridges
At least one person somewhere in the U.S. is driving over a structurally deficient bridge every minute, according to T4 America director James Corless in a report on the woeful condition of our nation’s bridges on NBC Nightly News Sunday evening. Watch the segment and learn more about our country’s bridges.
Closure of Ohio River Bridge Highlights Need for Robust Investment in Infrastructure
Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels’s prudent decision to close the 49-year-old Sherman Minton bridge over the Ohio River between Louisville, Kentucky and New Albany, Indiana last Friday after cracks were found in support girders, is powerful evidence that our country’s infrastructure needs cross both party lines and state lines and that we need strong federal investments in fixing our country’s infrastructure.
Correcting some misinformation on bicycle and pedestrian spending
Bike and pedestrian projects get less than 1.5 percent of federal transportation funding — despite recent misinformation to the contrary. There’s some misinformation percolating about the size of the transportation enhancements program — the small dedicated program that has funded projects to make biking and walking safer and more convenient for 20 years. Some misleading […]
Structurally deficient bridges and President Obama’s jobs bill
Last night after President Obama’s speech to Congress, attention turned to analysis of the speech and the President’s plan to take it on the road to the districts of key Representatives and Senators. Chris Matthews of MSNBC referenced Transportation for America and our data on structurally deficient bridges as an important part of making the […]
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