Multiple speakers at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s sixth annual Global Supply Chain Summit emphasized the need to fund and build better transportation infrastructure — an investment that would improve U.S. supply chain operations and boost U.S. economic competitiveness.
One complaint among the speakers was the length of the U.S. transportation project permit process.
“In Germany and Canada, it takes no more than two years for project approval – but you can’t do it for less than four years in the U.S.,” David Blaisdell, global construction firm Bechtel Corp. vice president of P3 and financial services, said. “We also need to be able to ‘fast-track’ projects with the most economic impact. And when it comes to funding, what is not working is the gas [fuel] tax; what we spend now is not enough.”
When Norfolk Southern replaced a bridge in 1875, it took 90 days, Darrell Wilson, Norfolk Southern assistant vice president for government relations, said. In 2005, the same bridge took 7.5 years of obtaining permits and 29 months of actual construction work.
Another complaint was that the federal government is not doing enough to address infrastructure needs.
The United States is struggling to meet its infrastructure needs, and the country will lose its competitive edge if this is not addressed, U.S. Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Thomas Donohue said.