Transportation for America just released its annual report on America’s structurally deficient bridges, and its findings are alarming: today in Connecticut’s Fourth District, over 40% of our bridges are either structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, and in dire need of repair. This represents both an unacceptable lack of transportation efficiency and a dangerous public safety concern. It is clear we need to commit long-term federal funding to infrastructure improvements.
Improving our transportation systems will boost our economy. In the short term, rebuilding our crumbling roads and bridges will create jobs, and in the long term, it will generate strong economic returns. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, each $1 billion we invest in federal highway investment supports 34,000 jobs, and every dollar we invest in public transportation generates $6 in economic returns. In contrast, the American Society for Civil Engineers estimates that failing to invest in fixing our roads and bridges now will cost our country $2.1 trillion in lost economic growth and 877,000 jobs by 2020.
Infrastructural neglect compromises our safety, as well. Nearly 45% of the 34,000 annual U.S. highway fatalities occur in crashes where substandard road conditions, obsolete designs, or roadside hazards were a factor. The recent train derailment on the Bridgeport-Fairfield border, caused by a number of factors including unstable rails and loose embankments, is just the latest reminder of the danger of failing to invest in our transportation infrastructure. As a father and a husband, I worry about the safety of my family on Connecticut’s highways and railroads. And as a representative of the citizens of the Fourth District of Connecticut, I will do everything I can to prevent future accidents caused by inadequate infrastructure.
There is a lot of work we need to do before our highways are safe and efficient, but I remain optimistic that we can get the job done. In the weeks and months ahead, I will continue urging my colleagues to support sound, targeted investments in rebuilding our transportation infrastructure so we can create jobs while investing in our future.