DALLAS -- The aging, overworked national freight transportation network cannot meet the needs of a growing economy without additional dedicated federal funding and more private investment in public infrastructure, transportation officials warned.
Eighteen state transportation departments have so far identified $259 billion of freight-specific projects that could eliminate constraints to the free flow of goods, according to a report released Tuesday by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and the American Association of Port Authorities.
President-elect Donald Trump's $1 trillion, 10-year infrastructure proposal won't provide the necessary level of additional funding to remove the freight bottlenecks, said AASHTO president Bud Wright.
The Trump plan is aimed at funding infrastructure projects with a revenue steam that could provide a return on investment that would be attractive to private investors, he noted.
"There's a role for public-private partnerships but it isn't enough money for all the infrastructure needs we see around the country," Wright said. "Private investments will be critical, but we still need more federal funding."
Information from the Trump transition team about the $1 trillion plan has been limited, Wright said.
"We have not seen the details, frankly, of what Trump will propose," he said. "Whatever it is, there will be a need for more robust federal funding."
Trump's proposal is based on $137 billion of tax credits that his economic advisers said private investors could use to leverage up to $1 trillion for infrastructure projects.
Wilbur Ross, a billionaire investor who is one of the co-authors of the Trump plan, was selected last week as the next Commerce Secretary.
A funding source for multi-modal freight infrastructure is needed in addition to the nearly $11 billion provided to the states for freight projects over five years by the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act, which was signed into law a year ago, Wright said.
The report also recommends closer coordination between federal and state officials to foster more freight-specific P3s.
Freight funding in the FAST Act includes $6.3 billion of formula funding and $4.5 billion of discretionary grants, of which only $500 million can go to multimodal projects.
States must develop comprehensive freight transportation plans by December 2017 to receive the dedicated formula funding in the FAST Act.
Freight movements to and from U.S. seaports and inland ports are limited by an inadequate transportation network that will become an ever-increasing drag on a growing economy without additional funding for infrastructure, said AAPA president Kurt Nagle. An AAPA survey in 2015 found $29 billion of landside transportation projects are needed to unclog road and rail bottlenecks at U.S. ports, Nagle said.
"Increases in freight volumes and bigger ships will put even more pressure on antiquated port facilities," Nagle said. "A funding source dedicated to multimodal freight movements is vital."
Nagle said he was encouraged by the emphasis by both sides on infrastructure funding during the recent presidential campaign.
"President-elect Trump and Congress have indicated a desire to increase funding for transportation infrastructure," he said. "Mr. Trump in particular has been very vocal about his desire to rebuild U.S. infrastructure."
The freight-handling infrastructure at seaports, from cranes to access roads, has not kept up with the rapidly expanding capacity of cargo ships over recent decades, said Kathleen Broadwater, deputy executive director of the Maryland Port Administration.
"Since 1956, the inception of the interstate highway system, container cargo ships have gone through eight generations while we are in our first round of dedicated freight funding," she said. "The first container ships in 1956 had a capacity of 500 units and now the latest models can carry up to 18,000 units."
