Trump calls on Congress to produce $1.5tn bill for infrastructure

President Donald Trump has announced a plan in his State of Union to push Congress to approve a $1.5tn (£1.05tn) scheme which he described will “build gleaming new roads, bridges, highways, railways, and waterways across our land.” A report from the American Road & Transportation Builders Association revealed that 54,259 of the nation’s bridges are rated structurally deficient with Americans crossing them 174 million times a day. The president added that every Federal dollar should be leveraged by
February 1, 2018 Read time: 2 mins

President Donald Trump has announced a plan in his State of Union to push Congress to approve a $1.5tn (£1.05tn) scheme which he described will “build gleaming new roads, bridges, highways, railways, and waterways across our land.” A %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 link-external report American Road &amp; Transport website link false https://www.artba.org/2018/01/29/54000-american-bridges-structurally-deficient-analysis-new-federal-data-shows/ false false%> from the American Road & Transportation Builders Association revealed that 54,259 of the nation’s bridges are rated structurally deficient with Americans crossing them 174 million times a day.

The president added that every Federal dollar should be leveraged by partnering with State and local governments, and where appropriate, tap into private sector investment to fix the infrastructure deficit.
 
Shailen Bhatt, CEO and president of ITS America, believes that the president’s announcement represents a major opportunity for the ITS industry. Speaking to ITS International, he said: “If you want to leverage dollars, there’s no better tool in your toolbox than ITS technologies.”

Other key findings in the report showed that 226,837 U.S. bridges and 17,726 interstate highway bridges have identified repair needs. In addition, it revealed that Iowa has the most structurally deficient bridges with 5,067 followed by Pennsylvania’s 4,173 while at least 15% of bridges in Rhode Island, Iowa, West Virginia South Dakota, Pennsylvania and Nebraska all fall under the structurally deficient category.

Urban Traffic Control

Related Content

  • RAC Foundation: UK drivers receive 12 million penalties annually
    October 25, 2017
    Up to 12 million driving license holders receive a penalty notice each year – the equivalent of one every 2.5 seconds; meaning as many as a third (30%) of Britain's 40 million drivers now receive a penalty notice annually. The findings come from the Automated Road Traffic Enforcement: Regulation, Governance and Use - for the RAC Foundation by Dr Adam Snow, a lecturer in criminology at Liverpool Hope University. The penalty notices include the Fixed Penalty Notice (a criminal penalty issued
    Read More
  • Ride-hailing and taxi drivers could face tougher criminal checks in England
    February 14, 2019
    Drivers who ply their trade on apps such as Uber could be under greater scrutiny as part of proposals being put forward by the UK government. The potential risk to passengers from the explosion of ride-hailing apps, as private-hire drivers are perceived to receive less thorough vetting – for example, to flag up past convictions – has long been argued. Incidents such as the murders of passengers by a Didi driver in China heightened such concerns - although critics point out that a US Uber driver who ad
    Read More
  • IBBTA to hold summit on mobility solutions in Philadelphia
    May 14, 2019
    The International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBBTA) is to hold a summit in Philadelphia this weekend. The Summit on Finance and Policy, hosted by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, will focus on mobility strategies and on funding for improvements to US roadways, bridges and tunnels. Patrick Jones, IBTTA executive director, will moderate a luncheon discussion about New York City’s toll-cordon congestion pricing plan. Panellists will include Allison de Cerreño, senior vice presiden
    Read More
  • Redflex ‘does not expect further action’ from US Department of Justice
    January 18, 2019
    Traffic enforcement specialist Redflex Holdings says it expects no further legal action or new financial liabilities arising from investigations by the US Department of Justice (DoJ). The action, which has rumbled on for several years, related to misconduct by former employees of US subsidiary Redflex Traffic Systems. The company signed a two-year non-prosecution agreement (NPA) with the DoJ, which has now ended. Under the expired deal, the DoJ agreed not to charge the firm with any offence provided t
    Read More

Highlighted Content