As Congress works toward reauthorizing infrastructure investments, a new public outreach campaign hopes to educate lawmakers and the American public about the benefits of those investments.
Entitled “The Benefits of Transportation: The Solutions state DOTs Bring to People & Their Communities”, the national campaign from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) will use interactive mapping to show how public transportation projects are improving the communities they are in by adding to the local economy, increasing safety in the area, reducing the time area residents spend traveling and positively affecting the environment.
Congress has until September of this year to reauthorize Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act spending measures to invest in the country’s infrastructure. President Trump’s budget request for 2020 asks for $1 billion in infrastructure investments and long-term authorization of investments to help state, local, and private partners with planning and implementing infrastructure projects.
Officials with AASHTO hope the website, advertising campaign, and report will not only educate residents in those communities but the lawmakers who represent them as well.
“The professionals working at state departments of transportation know these benefits first-hand because they’re responsible for planning, designing, and building the transportation projects that keep America moving by car, truck, rail, bus, and bicycle,” said Jim Tymon AASHTO executive director.
According to the Federal Highway Administration, every dollar spent on surface transportation improvements provides taxpayers with a $5.20 return on investment in the form of lower automobile maintenance costs, less time spent waiting in traffic, lower fuel consumption, improved safety, lower infrastructure maintenance costs, and lower vehicle emissions.
“In addition to the general public, we encourage members of Congress and their staffs to use the website to inform constituents about the importance of transportation investment,” said Patrick McKenna, director of the Missouri DOT and AASHTO’s 2019-2020 president. “A wide range of transportation infrastructure projects are included within the report and on the website to demonstrate how these projects are providing real benefits to real people from coast to coast.”
The interactive map can be found at http://benefits.transportation.org.