USDOT report confirms significant backlog in infrastructure investment

Written by Mischa Wanek-Libman, editor
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2012-2032 Future transit capital investment scenarios.
USDOT

A Congressionally-mandated report has found that U.S. infrastructure requires more investment to maintain existing systems, as well as tackle a significant backlog of repair work.

“We have an infrastructure system that is fundamental to the nation’s economic health and it needs greater attention and resources,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “Improving our nation’s roads, bridges and transit helps create jobs, connects communities and ensures that our nation is equipped for the future.”

The report, “2015 Status of the Nation’s Highways, Bridges and Transit: Conditions and Performance,” confirms that more investment is needed not only to maintain the nation’s highway and transit systems but to overcome a nearly trillion-dollar investment backlog.

Secretary Foxx added that the report confirms the projections outlined in “Beyond Traffic,” a U.S. Department of Transportation study issued in early 2015 that examined the challenges facing America’s transportation infrastructure over the next 30 years, such as a rapidly growing population and increasing freight traffic.

The new report – commonly known as the “Conditions and Performance” report – identifies an $836 billion backlog of unmet capital investment needs for highways and bridges, or about 3.4 percent more than the estimate made in the previous report.

The report also indicates that $26.4 billion is needed per year to improve the condition of transit rail and bus systems. In 2012, total spending to preserve and expand transit systems was $17 billion. If transit investment is sustained at those levels, overall transit system conditions are expected to decline over the next 20 years, and increasing the transit system preservation backlog from an estimated $89.8 billion to $122 billion, for a total investment backlog in all sectors of infrastructure at $926 billion.

“This report shows the impact of the lack of investment in infrastructure,” said Acting Federal Transit Administrator Carolyn Flowers. “The results of that neglect can be seen throughout our country as both reliability and safety suffer. We must increase investment in public transportation nationwide, because we must take immediate action to bring our transit infrastructure into a state of good repair and provide the world-class service that Americans deserve.”

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