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In remarks Nov. 2 in Washington, DC, President Obama called on Congress to pass the transportation piece of the American Jobs Act, which will make immediate investments of $50 billion in U.S. transportation infrastructure.
“The United States is falling behind on investing in the roads, bridges, airports, and transit systems that keep our economy humming,” he said, adding “We spend just 2 percent of our GDP on infrastructure projects. Europe and China invest 5 percent and 9 percent of their respective GDPs on developing infrastructure.”
“Construction workers have been among the Americans hit hardest over the past few years,” he continued. “This week, Congress has the chance to do something about it and pass a bill that will put hundreds of thousands of construction workers back to work rebuilding our roads, bridges, airports, and transit systems.”
He emphasized: “It’s a bill that includes the kinds of ideas both parties have voted for in the past, it’s paid for, and its ideas are supported by an overwhelming majority of the American people.”
White House Releases Infrastructure Report
The White House also announced the release of Recent Examples of the Economic Benefits from Investing in Infrastructure, a report that emphasizes the “ongoing need for new investments to maintain, upgrade, and expand the nation’s stock of transportation infrastructure.”
Such investments in transportation infrastructure provide substantial economic benefits in both the short and long run, the report states. It cites several recently completed infrastructure projects, including expanded public transit services to new communities:
* The Green Line light rail extension in Portland, OR, moves commuters and other travelers to their destinations efficiently and with less congestion. “Without a well-functioning system of roads and highways, public transit, railways, seaports, and aviation, much of the activity in the U.S. economy would grind to halt,” the report said.
* Dallas Area Rapid Transit’s 24-mile Green Line light rail extension opened for service six months ahead of schedule, in December 2010, with the report terming this “a remarkable transformation for a city, and a region, dominated by an automobile culture for most of the last century.”
* The 10.6-mile Mid-Jordan Light Rail line opened in Utah in August, providing a direct connection to the Salt Lake City central business district, the University of Utah, and other metro area destinations.
* Seattle’s Sound Transit invested $377 million, funded with Build America Bonds, for light rail projects including the initial Central Link line and the Airport Link and University Link extensions.
The report examines the economic reasons for making these investments now and presents four different types of infrastructure projects that would most likely result in large returns. At the conclusion of the report are discussions of innovative financing methods, including leveraging private funding and developing methods to ensure that infrastructure funds go where they will have the most direct effect.
The text of the report is available here.
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