bigpicture
Peter Bradley
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Senior Editor
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James Cooke
Editor at Large
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Editor at Large
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George Weimer
Editor at Large
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Sean Maloney
Assistant Editor
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Columnists:
Clifford F. Lynch
Don Jacobson
Shelly Safian
Kenneth B. Ackerman
Art Van Bodegraven
Barry Brandman
Tied up in traffic
Gary Master
Publisher
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Mitch Mac Donald
Group Editorial Director
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Jim Indelicato
Group Publisher
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SOME YEARS AGO, TRAVELING FROM O’HARE AIRPORT INTO
downtown Chicago, I noticed a flashing sign that warned of “Congestion
through Ohio.” The sign referred to the Ohio Street exit off the highway.
But with the heavy burden placed on U.S. roads, it was easy to imagine
bumper-to-bumper traffic out past Cleveland.
The state of U.S. roads, airports, ports, and railways recently captured
the attention of The Economist magazine, the British-based newsweekly. In
the issue dated April 30–May 6, it devoted three pages to looking at failures
to maintain current infrastructure or prepare for growth largely because of
a widening political divide both in Washington and in state capitals.
“America, despite its wealth and strength, often seems to be falling
apart,” the story laments. The writer admits to being
puzzled by the nation’s inability to tackle infrastructure development, given the long history of public
investment and support of massive public works projects from the earliest days of the republic.
While the infrastructure debate may seem to have little
bearing on the day-to-day business lives of DC VELOCITY
readers, we report on it regularly for what we consider a
compelling reason. Our economic health is deeply
dependent on the health of our highways, railroads,
waterways, ports, and airports. Professionals charged
with moving goods around the nation or around the
world likely understand that better than anyone.
But I fear our current political condition makes
agreeing on constructive solutions all but impossible.
Too many members of Congress sneer at the word “investment” when discussing infrastructure spending. Highway trust fund revenues have dwindled to the point where they’re no longer sufficient to support even current, inadequate, levels of spending, yet any suggestion for raising revenue
through higher fuel taxes, congestion funding, or other forms of user fees
is doomed at the outset. Even those who support greater spending and
higher user fees often bring a narrow focus to the table that undermines
broad-based holistic thinking about infrastructure.
“No industrialized nation in the world is doing less than the United
States,” James Oberstar, former chair of the House Transportation and
Infrastructure Committee, told NASSTRAC members at their annual conference in Orlando, Fla., in April.
The Economist piece concludes, darkly, that if partisanship continues to
spread on these issues, “then the American economy risks grinding to a
standstill.” I’m not persuaded the situation is that dire, at least not yet. But
it is hard to foresee in the present environment how we can make much
progress.
