DALLAS — Deteriorating transportation infrastructure in the United States threatens the nation's global economic competitiveness and job growth, a majority of travel and tourism executives said in a new opinion survey released May 22.
The survey by U.S. Travel Association and infrastructure advocacy group Building America's Future found that 84% of travel industry leaders would support new transportation taxes, tolls, or some other revenue source if the collections were dedicated to infrastructure renewal and replacement.
Ninety-three percent of those surveyed said that greater investments in maintenance and upgrades to infrastructure are needed and all options to fund it should be on the table.
The survey of the travel association's members found that 87% believe that America's infrastructure is in "fair" or "poor" shape, with 12% saying it is "pretty good." Only 1% of the respondents said U.S. infrastructure is in such good condition that there is no need for improvement.
The nation's highways and airports are barely able to accommodate current demand, said USTA president Roger Dow.
"Within a decade, most of our top 50 airports will experience Thanksgiving-like passenger congestion every week," Dow said. "Labor Day traffic levels will soon be a regular reality on our busiest highways."
Dow said Congress should act on transportation infrastructure before the current two-year bill, Moving Ahead For Progress in the 21st Century, expires on Sept. 30.
"If we're going to fully capture the economic potential of travel, we must address our infrastructure, and do it now," he said.
The Senate is considering a six-year surface transportation bill that keeps highway and transit funding at fiscal 2014 levels plus inflation through 2020.
The House Appropriations Committee last week adopted a fiscal 2015 budget for the Transportation Department that freezes transportation spending at the same level as in fiscal 2014, the final year of the current highway bill. The House budget bill provides $71 billion for DOT in fiscal 2015, almost $20 billion less than requested by President Obama.
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has not yet developed a transportation measure, but chairman Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Pa., said he intends to have a committee vote on a multi-year funding bill before the congressional recess in August.
The results of the survey were released at crucial time for transportation infrastructure funding in the U.S., the travel industry group said.
"The Highway Trust Fund is currently projected to go bankrupt in early August, which will cause thousands of new or ongoing transportation and infrastructure projects to be canceled or put on indefinite hold,' USTA said in a statement. "Halting such critical projects would cost nearly 600,000 American jobs and negatively impact tens of thousands of businesses that regularly depend upon the projects that trust fund investments make possible."
Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, co-chairman of Building America's Future, said a potential shutdown of new highway projects if the Highway Trust Fund is not replenished would threaten the recovery from the Great Recession.
"From this new survey, 90% believe that if Congress fails to pass a new transportation bill that it would 'very likely' or 'somewhat likely' have an impact on their business or destination in the form of increased travel hassles, lost business and lost revenue," he said. "In a time where the United States' economy is just getting back on track, we cannot afford additional roadblocks to economic growth."
Former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, also a co-chairman of the advocacy group, said congressional action is needed now.
"Six of the world's busiest ports are now in China and none are here in the U.S.," LaHood said at the news conference where the survey was released. "America invented aviation, and now the U.S. ranks 18th in the world behind such countries as Barbados and Panama in the industry.
"It's shameful, and must be remedied," he said.
