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A new report on the state of America’s transportation infrastructure, “2010 Status of the Nation’s Highways, Bridges and Transit: Conditions and Performance,” points out an increasing gap between current and projected money needed to maintain U.S. highways, bridges, and transit systems.
The U.S. Department of Transportation report projects that $101 billion, plus increases for inflation, is needed annually during the next 20 years from all levels of government&mdassh;local, state, and federal—to maintain the nation’s highway system in its current state. The report also identifies opportunities for investments to improve the current state of highways and bridges that could total up to $170 billion a year. The report notes that in 2008, all levels of government spent a combined total of $91.1 billion on highway capital improvements, nearly a 50% increase over 2000.
The report also projects that a total of $20.8–$24.5 billion will be needed annually during the next 20 years to attain a state of good repair for the nation’s transit systems and to accommodate expected transit ridership growth. By contrast, all levels of government combined spent $16.1 billion on transit capital improvements in 2008.
The Conditions and Performance is a biennial report to Congress that provides information on the physical and operating characteristics of the highway, bridge, and transit components of the nation’s surface transportation systems.