Schwarzenegger Stresses Dire Need for Infrastructure Program

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-Calif.) is pumped up about infrastructure spending.

In a Newsweek article, he stated that, "America needs a large scale, immediate investment" in critical infrastructure areas like road, waterways and ports.

"Our infrastructure is more than just a quality of life issue," says Schwarzenegger. "It's an economic issue."

The Governor is correct--infrastructure investment is critical to the economy because i affects the safe and efficient movement of freight. The trucking industry's ability to move goods to market has a direct impact on the overall health of the U.S. economy.

The Federal Highway Administration reports that over the past 25 years, the number of registered vehicles has increased 56 percent, yet new road miles have grown by only 4 percent and lane capacity has increased just 6 percent. Because of this, traffic congestion has become a major threat to our nation's productivity.

Some 437 urban areas nationwide are plagued by traffic congestion, according to the Texas Transportation Institute. Congestion annually costs the U.S. economy $78 billion in the form of 4.2 billion "lost hours" and 2.9 billion gallons of wasted fuel. if key congestion bottlenecks were eliminated, the trucking industry alone could save 4.1 billion gallons of fuel over 10 years and 45.2 million tons of CO2 emissions.

For more transportation information, visit the National Journal Transportation Blog to read the latest posts from ATA President and CEO Bill Graves.