By Kevin McCarty
September 24, 2007

Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak urged leaders of the key House transportation panel September 5 to draw upon the lessons of the I-35W bridge collapse in his city to expand funding commitments to transportation infrastructure.

Appearing before the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on behalf of the City of Minneapolis and The U.S. Conference of Mayors, Rybak called upon Congressional transportation leaders to increase investment in the nation’s transportation infrastructure. “We should take this core lesson from the tragedy of the I-35W Bridge collapse: When you invest in quality government, you get quality results. When you don’t invest, there are consequences.”

Rybak explained that mayors have known for some time that funding levels to maintain and upgrade our transportation information have not been keeping pace with rising costs. “We mayors know that there is no free lunch when it comes to basic infrastructure,” he said. “Every day we are required to keep a relentless focus on results, because every day our citizens see at the grassroots whether we are providing the basic services they expect, and whether they are getting good value for their tax dollars. We need to be honest about our need to improve mobility — and what it will cost to get there.”

Rybak also emphasized that today’s leaders have a responsibility to address this critical need. “We are the stewards of the common ground,” he said.

Testifying at the day-long oversight hearing on the I-35W bridge collapse, Rybak appealed to House transportation leaders, who are most responsible for originating most federal infrastructure legislation (e.g., aviation, highways, ports, transit, and water and water treatment facilities), to raise funding commitments to the nation’s infrastructure. “Our city, our state and our nation have not invested as we must in roads, bridges and transit – and our lack of investment has serious consequences,” he said. “I say this as the Mayor of a city recovering from a tragedy that was not an act of God, but a failure of Man. For some time, we have known that our investment has not kept pace with maintenance and rehabilitation needs.”

Indicating his support for Chairman Jim Oberstar’s (MN) proposal to raise funding commitments to the repair of major bridges throughout the nation and other state and local transportation infrastructure initiatives, Rybak said, “For these reasons, I strongly endorse increases to the state gas tax to fund road and bridge improvements and strongly support regional sales taxes dedicated to transit. It is also why I personally endorse the proposal by Chairman Jim Oberstar for a temporary increase in the federal gas tax to repair or replace bridges nationwide.” In describing the position of the nation’s mayors, he noted that The U.S. Conference of Mayors in its policy positions have demonstrated a willingness to support increased federal gas taxes to raise federal funding commitments to transportation infrastructure investment.

In closing his remarks, Rybak emphasized the need for action. “We know that when we make these investments in transportation infrastructure, we get results. Having lived through the tragedies that I have seen in these past few weeks, those of us who are stewards of the common ground should vow to never again have the kind of consequences we saw in Minneapolis.”