From the White House:
Since our earliest days, the American transportation system has comprised our economic backbone — part of what’s made us great as a nation.
But right now, there’s a big problem with our roads and bridges: Over the years, we’ve invested in them less and less. They haven’t kept up with the needs and demands of our growing economy.
That’s why the President has been clear: Investing in our infrastructure is a top priority, and it’s why he’s put out a long-term plan that shows we can invest in our infrastructure and pay for it in part by closing unfair tax loopholes and making commonsense reforms to our tax system.
With funding for surface transportation running out, and hundreds of thousands of jobs at risk, we simply can’t afford to stop investing in our transportation.
65% of America’s roads are already in less than good condition, and a quarter of our bridges require significant repair or can’t handle today’s traffic.
The President has a plan to fix our nation’s infrastructure for the long run — making targeted investments in the short term and laying the groundwork for increased efficiency down the road. But in the meantime, he’s calling on Congress to avoid a lapse in funding of the Highway Trust Fund.
His long-term plan to invest in rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure would (among other things):
– Invest $302 billion over four years into our highways, railroads, and transit systems
– Provide certainty that cities, states, and investors need to break ground on major projects
– Build a world-class freight network that gets our products out to overseas markets