Foxx, Predecessors Urge Congress to Address Transportation Needs
Their letter expresses hope that Congress will look beyond the Highway Trust Fund.
Eleven former DOT secretaries, as well as current Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, have stated in a letter that never in the history of the United States has the country's transportation system been on a more unsustainable course. They say the issue is the length of federal funding bills, which during the past decade have been short-term measures.
Adding up to 27 in total, these bills have caused states to delay and cancel transportation projects altogether, and as a result is a nation has a backlog of repair and rebuilding jobs. Their letter says there are so many structurally deficient bridges in America that, if lined up end to end, they would stretch from Boston to Miami.
The letter estimates that by the year 2050, the country will move 14 billion additional tons of freight, which is almost twice what is moved today. They cite the American Society of Civil Engineers, which has estimated the U.S. infrastructure will need $1.8 trillion by 2020 just to bring surface transportation to an adequate level.
Because of this, the letter ends by reinforcing the idea of long-term funding.