Joint Letter To Congress Calls For ‘Generational’ Infrastructure Investment

Excerpt from AASHTO Journal: Joint Letter To Congress Calls For ‘Generational’ Infrastructure Investment

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and 17 other organizations sent a joint letter to key Congressional leaders on April 15 calling for more funding to close a $756 billion “investment gap” in the nation’s surface transportation system.

“We request Congress to authorize $200 billion in highway and bridge stimulus or ‘down payment’ in the infrastructure package, available to be obligated through 2026 at 100 percent federal share,” the letter said in reference to the recent American Jobs Plan stimulus unveiled by the Biden administration on March 31.

(Click on Image to Enlarge) Investment Needed to Address the Highway and Bridge Infrastructure Investment Backlog in 10 Years – Source AASHTO

“We also ask that you to provide $487 billion for the Federal-aid Highway Program as part of the upcoming five-year surface transportation reauthorization due by October 1,” the letter continued. “If these robust investments are paired with $846 billion in the subsequent five year reauthorization from 2027 to 2031, we as a nation can finally tackle the ever-looming highway and bridge backlog once and for all.”

The $756 billion investment “backlog” figure cited by AASHTO in the joint letter is based on the methodology used in Status of the Nation’s Highways, Bridges, and Transit: Conditions & Performance Report, 23rd Edition published by the US Department of Transportation – a backlog composed of system rehabilitation, enhancement, and capacity needs for highways and bridges.

Download AASHTO Policy Recommendations for Surface Transportation Reauthorization (April 2021)

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