By Ron Thaniel
November 17, 2003

Highlighting the congested and deteriorating state of the transportation infrastructure found in cities, Conference President Hempstead (NY) Mayor James Garner, Transportation and Communications Committee Chair Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, Conference Vice President Akron Mayor Donald L. Plusquellic, and Advisory Board Chair Long Beach Mayor Beverly O'Neill joined with House Transportation leaders November 6 urging for immediate action in the reauthorization of the nation's surface transportation law, TEA-21.

Joining the Conference leadership calling for greater transportation resources to cities was North Little Rock Mayor Patrick Henry Hays, Chairman of the Mayors Amtrak Advisory Council, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, Piscataway (NJ) Mayor Brian Wahler, and Howard N. Menaker, Manger, Public Affairs for Bechtel Infrastructure and Co-Chair of the Conference's Business Council Steering Committee.

Acknowledging the need and supporting greater transportation investment in America's cities, House transportation decision-makers, led by Transportation and Infrastructure Chair Don Young (AK) said, "Mayors know all too well what's happening in their cities and understand that anything less than a $375 billion bill will be insufficient to address their transportation problems."

Joining Chairman Young was Ranking Member James Oberstar (MN), Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Chairman Thomas Petri (WI), Subcommittee on Highways, Transit and Pipelines, and Ranking Member William Lipinski (IL), Subcommittee on Highways, Transit and Pipeline.

"Cities all across America face specific transportation challenges," said Mayor Nickels. "In Seattle, our elevated highway is over 50 years old and crumbling, but still carries 100,000 cars a day. We need to move now on TEA-21 so that we can fix our transportation network and create jobs."

Garner concurred. "Mayors are acutely aware that for every $1 billion invested in transportation development in local communities, 47,500 jobs are created. Transportation investment is already a top priority in our cities; we are here to ensure it is a top priority in Washington (DC) as well," he said.

Highlighting the poor state of America's bridge infrastructure, Plusquellic sighted the American Society of Civil Engineers Report Card for America's Infrastructure, which gave the nation's bridges a grade of C.

The report states that as of 2000, 27.5 percent of the nation's bridges (162,000) were structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, an improvement from 29 percent in 1998. It is estimated that it will cost $9.4 billion a year for 20 years to eliminate all bridge deficiencies. Present funding trends of state DOTs call into question future progress on addressing bridge deficiencies.

O'Neill noted that the Alameda Corridor took 15 years to complete and urged Congress to act quickly.

"We're in a crisis today," she said. "Even if we got the money today to do some of these projects, it would take 10, 15 years. It's absolutely crucial that we don't wait another year for this money."

Summarizing the Conference's TEA-21 reauthorization platform, Nickels noted that because mayors are responsible for most of the nation's transportation infrastructure, Congress should give metropolitan areas more resources and greater decision ability to direct transportation funds where they are needed most.

Secondly, Congress should strongly support a substantial increase in transit investment to keep pace with the dramatic increase in ridership while opposing threats to transit through reallocation of funding sources.

And third, Congress should provide greater resources to address aging and congested transportation infrastructure.

"Cities are the hubs of our nation's transportation systems," said Nickels.

Local governments own approximately 75 percent of 4 million miles of highway and roads; over 50 percent of all bridges; and manage about 90 percent of the nation's transit systems.

Citing the massive costs incurred by cities as a result of this responsibility, Nickels and the Congressional transportation leaders called for a reauthorization amount of no less than $375 billion.

However, the mayors did not sign off on the roughly eight-cent gas tax increase over the same period that committee chairman Don Young and ranking member James L. Oberstar contend is needed to pay for the proposal.

"We think that the allocation (of federal dollars) to cities needs to be increased," Nickels told reporters during the press conference. "We want to see that issue addressed before we endorse" the plan's funding component.

"It is because of this important connection between the stability of our economy and the strategic investment in transportation that we have come to Washington to call greater attention to the nations mayor's priorities in the reauthorization of TEA-21," said Garner.

Please visit the Conference's website usmayors.org to view the mayor's transportation reauthorization platform.