President Obama last month called for additional investment in transportation infrastructure as a way to stimulate jobs and economic growth. In a nationally televised speech, Obama said he would press Congress to pass legislation to pay for additional infrastructure works.
According to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, there are nearly 7,500 highway projects throughout the country worth more than $47 billion that could be started almost immediately. The Federal Highway Administration estimates that each billion dollars invested in federal-aid highway projects generates about 30,000 jobs. Therefore, this spending level could, in a short time span, create at least 1.4 million jobs, while also making highways safer and less congested.
The American Trucking Associations says it urges Congress and the Obama administration to expedite funding for ready-to-go highway projects while continuing to work toward quick passage of a long-term highway bill with robust funding for highway projects that yield significant national and regional economic benefits.
