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U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown
Investing in
Infrastructure, Investing in Jobs
Several years ago my wife Connie and I were listening to one of my
favorite radio programs, NPR’s Science Friday, and we heard an
interview with author Earl Swift, who wrote a book called “The Big
Roads: The Untold Story of the Engineers, Visionaries, and Trailblazers
Who Created the American Superhighways.”
Mr. Swift related the story of those trailblazers who in the 1930s,
40s, and 50s created the world’s largest public works project: the U.S.
interstate highway system.
That generation built and bequeathed to us a transportation system that
was the envy of the world.
They built it, but we haven’t maintained it.
Too many of our roads, bridges, and railways have fallen into
disrepair. The quality of U.S. infrastructure now ranks just 16th in
the world, according to the World Economic Forum. To remain on top of
the world’s economy, we need to invest in a world-class infrastructure.
In Ohio, one quarter of our bridges are deemed "structurally deficient"
or "functionally obsolete” by the Federal Highway Administration.
Forty-five percent of our state’s major urban highways are congested,
costing our drivers $3.6 billion a year in additional repairs and
operating costs.
Many of these 6,500 Ohio bridges in need of repair depend on funding
from the highway bill to make improvements and upgrades. But the
highway bill is set to expire at the end of July, and unless the
federal transportation bill is reauthorized, repairs will be delayed
and thousands of construction jobs will be at risk.
If we expect to continue our leadership of the global economy, we must
invest in a long-term transportation plan—for both highways and transit
programs. Countries like Brazil and China are making investments in
state-of-the art transportation systems—we can’t allow the U.S. to lag
behind.
Transportation bills are traditionally bipartisan, six-year bills with
guaranteed funding. That guaranteed funding gives states, cities, and
public transportation agencies the certainty they need to plan
large-scale, long-term projects to repair and expand transportation
infrastructure. But since 2009, Congress has done the opposite of
providing certainty—passing 12 short-term extensions.
A long-term transportation bill is an opportunity to create jobs, and
bolster our manufacturing industry. Companies like ArcelorMittal, AK
Steel, and Nucor are making steel in Ohio that can build and rebuild
our bridges.
The clock is ticking—the Senate needs to commit to rebuilding our
infrastructure across the board, and reauthorize the highway bill. If
we expect to remain the world’s number one economy, we need to follow
the example of our parents and grandparents, and invest in roads,
bridges, and railways that will once again be the envy of the globe.
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