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Saturday, April 19, 2014

Highway Trust Fund Bankruptcy Will Halt Nation's Transportation Projects

By the time of President Obama’s election in 2008, the nation’s transportation system was in need of repair and many portions of the original system were still somewhat incomplete. Entering office in the midst of a recession, Congress was able to pass the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which allocated funding for various public works projects, including repairs to the nation’s ailing highways and bridges. The act also included the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) competitive grant program that invested $3.5 billion in 270 projects across the country.

Today, all of those projects risk being halted before completion.

The idea of an interstate network of highways and roads crossing the United States began in the 1930s. There were many ideas and plans presented to create a transcontinental system that would meet the defense needs and the anticipated traffic of a peacetime society. Amid regional and national political differences, the first attempts at such a network began in 1945, though there were no uniform standards in place. By the time President Dwight D. Eisenhower took office in 1953, less than a quarter of the highway system was deemed adequate for the then current traffic and definitely not ready for the projected levels of the future.

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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

when Rome fell --their glorious road network that was the day's marvel crumbled from a lack of upkeep Obama is busy making himself and his patron billionaires richer.. his useless voters fatter.. while he destroys our infrastructure,...the fact he has any advocates at all ... still supporting him is lamentable.