Infrastructure in the News: March 9, 2010

Transport Politic wrote about the possible benefits and pitfalls of a National Infrastructure Bank and according to Central Penn Business Journal Pennsylvania was ranked among the quickest to start stimulus transportation projects. For more on these and other stories see this Infrastructure in the News.

National News

Transport Politic: Benefits and Pitfalls of a National Infrastructure Bank
If you haven’t been following lately, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for members of Congress to get anything done. In terms of transportation, this fact is no laughing matter, because the nation’s ground transport systems is running on hot air — deficit spending — for lack of agreement about how to pull together financing for the next planned six-year transportation bill, now a year late. What was once considered unthinkable — a reliance on the income tax-sourced General Fund to ensure continued cash flow to states for the purposes of highway and transit construction — has become something of the status quo. But the lack of a committed, long-term source of funds for the program has produced a situation in which an expansion of overall spending on transportation, something that many consider an urgent priority, is very difficult to undertake.

DC Velocity: Opinion: New data could reshape infrastructure debate
Forthcoming research could finally provide numbers to show how investment in roads and bridges would pay off for entire nation.

State News

EDF blog: Transit Funding Disaster: A Hard Look at What Happens When Money Is Tight
...New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and countless other metropolitan regions are facing a transit disaster. Grappling with huge budget deficits as a result of public funding cuts, transit agencies are slashing service, laying off workers, and raising fares.

Journal Sentinel: Wis. high-speed rail work could start soon, LaHood tells Kohl
The U.S. Department of Transportation could clear the way for work to start on a new Milwaukee-to-Madison high-speed rail line within the next two weeks, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Thursday.

Central Penn Business Journal: Pa. ranked among quickest to start stimulus transportation projects
Pennsylvania ranked third in the U.S. for the speed at which its Department of Transportation started and delivered projects funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation recently said. The U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee ranked the commonwealth the top large state that started and delivered projects. Pennsylvania climbed from sixth to third place in the most recent ranking.