Those in the transportation community who watched President Obama’s ‘jobs’ speech last week hoping for fresh policy ideas likely came away sorely disappointed. The President reiterated his previous support for a $50 billion, front-loaded investment in transportation, coupled with his long-standing support for establishment of a National Infrastructure Bank. Nothing fresh or new there; but I’d offer that there is reason to celebrate whenever the President cites the need, importance and critical value of a quality transportation system while addressing millions of Americans as well as the entire Congress. In fact, we as a community need to work hard in the coming days and weeks to amplify this message.

Please don’t think that I am giving the President an outright pass here. In his address, he failed to mention the need to enact a multi-year authorization bill to accompany this upfront investment. In my view, this was a missed opportunity. States need certainty and stability in their transportation budgets in order to plan for and implement multi-year projects that have remained on the sidelines during this two-year extension period. An upfront, one-year funding boost provides neither certainty nor stability to the program – there simply is no substitute for a multi-year authorization.

Support for the current bipartisan, bicameral extension deal on surface transportation programs is critically important. It provides additional time for the House and Senate to make substantial progress on their respective authorization bills and come to a final agreement before the program would again expire on March 31, 2012.

When it comes to transportation, we need it all: Additional, immediate funding to help tackle our backlog of maintenance and safety project needs, as well as the policy reforms and funding certainty of a long-term bill that will facilitate a more accountable and results-driven program for the future.

As the prompt notes, President Obama did indeed make a similar pitch for infrastructure investment a year ago. Politics aside, he was right on the merits then and he’s certainly right today. But the reason something can actually get done now is a combination of better timing and a renewed urgency around jobs.

The President’s Labor Day speech in September 2010 came just two months before the midterm elections, a small window during an especially polarized period. But now Republicans have a majority in the House and co-ownership of the economy, and anxiety over job losses is beginning to blur some of the partisan lines. For example, look at the unanimous vote in the U.S. House on a clean six-month extension of the current transportation law without severe cuts or policy changes. Republican and Democratic members alike increasingly do not want to go back to their districts without a solution for construction workers who can’t find jobs and commuters who worry simply about getting to their jobs

Further, the infrastructure bank component of the American Jobs Act is lifted straight from a legislative proposal that has already earned bipartisan support from Senators Kerry, Hutchison, Warner and Graham. The successful TIGER program has won similar bipartisan support in the Senate and accolades from local officials in both parties from all corners of the country, with far more demand for the grant money than USDOT has been able to provide.

While any measure to fund long overdue infrastructure repairs and put Americans back to work is welcome, the President’s proposal ought to be a complement, rather than a substitute, for a long-term transportation bill with a 21st century focus on options and accountability. Advancing both the infrastructure components of the American Jobs Act and a fully funded new surface transportation authorization may be one of the best chances we have to give this economy a real boost, and turn short-term recovery into long-term prosperity.

Regardless of your political views, President Obama has brought transportation and infrastructure back into mainstream conversation, at least for the moment.

As Michael Tomasky argues in Newsweek, Obama’s call for infrastructure investment was not only about jobs but about our competitiveness in global markets. Both the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation and the Building America’s Future Educational Fund have released reports showing how we are rapidly falling behind our global competitors such as China, Japan, and South Korea when it comes to investing and modernizing our transportation systems.

The attention to infrastructure from both sides of the aisle is a good thing and critical to our future. In addition to the President’s speech, it should not be overlooked that the Senate EPW Committee unanimously passed a short-term clean extension for surface transportation. Whether Congress elects to set their sights on a longer-term highway bill, or to take a closer look at Obama’s plan, there seems to be growing bipartisan consensus that our failing transportation system must be addressed. Now is the time to get down to the details.

The short-term creation of jobs would help many needed infrastructure projects get off the ground, but lawmakers must also ensure that transportation has a long-term sustainable source of funding. Establishing a sound financial foundation is an essential part of addressing our transportation s and the required authorization.

However, the cost of doing nothing is exponentially greater. Our roads, bridges, and transit systems continue to suffer from underinvestment. While the ASCE Report Card continues to show a “D-” for roads, a “D” for transit, and a “C” for bridges, our problems look even greater in the future. A recent economic study from ASCE found that even current investment levels in transportation infrastructure will cost the American economy more than 870,000 jobs and suppress the growth of the country’s Gross Domestic Product by almost $900 billion by the year 2020.

With public support behind us, ASCE along with many other concerned organizations hope that Congress will seize the moment to address transportation in this session.