Chapter 4: Finding the Money

“The National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission (NSTPRSC) estimated that between $130 billion and $166 billion per year would be needed in highway capital investments (for all federal-aid highways) from 2005 thru 2020 in order to meet a set of goals that include maintaining pavement quality at current levels, an estimate that rises to $146 to $195 billion annually for the period 2005–55. For bridges, the commission found that ‘simply maintaining the current overall level of bridge conditions at current levels (i.e., not allowing the backlog of existing bridge deficiencies to grow above today’s levels) would require a combined investment of public and private sector resources of $650 billion over 50 years in 2006 dollars,’ while ‘the cost of eliminating all existing bridge deficiencies and addressing all such deficiencies as they arise over the next 50 years (where cost-beneficial to do so) is estimated to be $850 billion in 2006 dollars.’ Citing figures from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) reported in 2008 that it would cost ‘$140 billion in 2006 dollars to immediately repair every bridge that is deficient in the country,’ including $48 billion for structurally deficient bridges.”
—p. 101

Table of Contents

Excerpts:
Introduction
Chapter 1: A Tale of Two Bridges
Chapter 2: Following the Money: Road and Bridge Funding and the Maintenance Deficit
Chapter 3: No Sense of Urgency: The Politics and Culture of Road and Bridge Maintenance
Chapter 4: Finding the Money
Chapter 5: The Technological Imperative
Chapter 6: The Way Forward