On Feb. 26, President Obama spoke at the Union Depot train station in St. Paul, Minn., where he outlined his proposal to invest in America’s infrastructure with a $302 billion, four year plan to “modernize our nation’s surface transportation.”
During his speech, the President noted that the proposal would “repair essential highways and bridges, build new transit systems to help commuters spend less time in traffic, while construct smarter and more resilient transportation systems to better resist the impacts climate change like the flooding we’ve seen.”
Funding for the 21st Century Transportation Infrastructure plan would come from closing tax loopholes and using that money to create jobs and wages rebuilding America, said the President.
“Other countries not waiting to rebuild; China and Germany spend twice what we’re spending in order to build infrastructure because they know if they have the busiest and most efficient ports, businesses will go there,” he added. “They are out-building us to out-compete with us. I say the best roads, best airports and best trains should be right here in America. At a time when companies are saying they plan to hire more people, we need to help make that decision easier and create jobs at the same time.”
In his speech, Obama noted that many of America’s bridges are reaching a critical aging point.
According to data compiled by the annual infrastructure report issued by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), America’s infrastructure received a “D+” based on 16 categories in 2013, a slight increase from ASCE’s 2009 Report Card:
• Roads received a grade of D
• Bridges received a grade of C
• Transit received a D
• Rail received a grade of C
The full proposal for the 21st Century Transportation Infrastructure plan can be read online here.
