ACPA and 17 other major transportation advocacy groups signed on to a letter authored by AASHTO and sent to Majority and Minority Leaders of Congress, as well as Chairs and Ranking Members of key committees of jurisdiction.

The letter expressed appreciation to elected leaders for their commitment to a robust transportation infrastructure package.

The authors called attention to a long-standing backlog of highway and bridge projects, some $756 billion in all, according to a US DOT report. This backlog is composed of system rehabilitation, enhancement, and capacity needs for highways and bridges, they wrote.

The letter said this enormous backlog, and future needs can be addressed over the next 10 years, but to do so, the DOT and industry representatives requested Congress to authorize $200 billion in highway and bridge stimulus or “down payment” in the infrastructure package.  As proposed, the funding would be obligated through 2026 at 100 percent federal share.

The letter also asked Congress to provide $487 billion for the Federal-aid Highway Program as part of the upcoming five-year surface transportation reauthorization due by October 1. “If these robust investments are paired with $846 billion in the subsequent five year reauthorization from 2027 to 2031, we as a nation can finally tackle the ever-looming highway and bridge backlog once and for all,” the officials wrote.

They also asked that funds be provided through existing highway and transit formulas as they provide economic recovery funding in the quickest and most efficient manner, all the while flowing to every part of the country.

Click here to see the letter.

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