Patrick D. Jones

Fawn, I think all of your questions in the end lead to a larger, question: How do we fund our road infrastructure in ways that are appropriate and sustainable?

Yes, the gas tax is still with us and probably will be for some time. The liquid fuel we all depend on to drive our cars and trucks has a deep and enduring infrastructure, as does the system for taxing it to support our roads. But there are huge cracks in the funding system. The federal gas tax hasn’t been increased in 20 years, it’s lost half of its purchasing power in that time, and since 2008, Congress has transferred more than $50 billion from the general fund into the hig

We salute the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) for conducting its once-every-four-years comprehensive assessment of current infrastructure conditions and needs, for assigning grades, and for making recommendations on how to raise the grades.

We all experience the grinding, day-to-day impacts of failing infrastructure locally and individually. Whether it is a congested roadway that delays our commute, a broken water main that floods our neighborhood, or a power outage that shutters homes and businesses, we all know the frustration and inconvenience of underfunded and failing infrastructure.

You ask what an “exceptional” road, runway, or levee would look like. The good news is that we have some shining examples, right before our eyes. The North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA), for instance, uses a sophisticated maintenance rating program to enforce a high performance standard for its 850 lane miles of highway. On the Triang

Great topic, Fawn. Before anyone criticizes Gov. McDonnell's announcement, let's recognize that a great many state governors could soon be walking a mile in his shoes—along the crumbling shoulder of a poorly-maintained Interstate, after abandoning their vehicles in an interminably congested lane.

As you say, there’s a lot to like about the plan. Start with the Governor’s recognition that “the same old means of funding transportation” will bring us the same old problems. He’s making a solid attempt to address the combination of looming challenges that led Rep. Bill Shuster (R-PA), the new Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, to warn that transportation faces its “own version of a fiscal cliff”: the infrastructure deficit is deepening, maintenance budgets are declining, and the gas tax is becoming ever less effective as a method of funding the roads we need.

Yes, there are questions about the difference between the transportation dollars Virginia needs and the

Today, December 21, 2012, is the end of the world. At least according to the Mayan calendar. But certainly not because of the so-called fiscal cliff.

For millennia, enlightened people everywhere have waited in anticipation for the coming of the winter solstice. It marks the beginning of the end of darkness; it marks the beginning of a six-month expanse of time when the hours of daylight increase with each passing day.

I believe the amount of daylight is growing for those who are serious about investing in transportation infrastructure – never mind the Mayan calendar or the fiscal cliff. More and more states, cities and regions are looking at all the tools in the toolbox -- taxes, tolling, road user charges -- to help solve their transportation funding and mobility needs.

As negotiators in Washington contemplate the fiscal cliff – and ignore the promise of new light – it's useful to consider the wisdom of farmers who use the downti

I completely agree with Emil Frankel that "the strongest argument for tolling is that federal funding for surface transportation is stagnant, and is likely to remain so for many years. In an era of severely constrained resources for surface transportation, states and metropolitan regions should be afforded greater flexibility to fund and finance their transportation facilities and networks" as they see fit.　 In other words, if Congress won’t solve the problem, then it should get out of the way.

I won’t go as far as Gabriel Roth in saying that "all roads should be tolled." However, tolling is a tool. And states should have the flexibility to use this powerful tool on any road where it makes the most sense – including on the Interstate highways.

The initial investment by all levels of government to build the interstate highway system was roughly $130 billion.　 But as Fawn correctly points out, it will cost 10 to 20 times that amount to REBUILD the system over the next 50 years.　 That huge sum of money is unlikely t

Fawn, you’ve touched on one of the most important points in the continuing debate over transportation finance and funding: People have a right to clarity, and they expect to understand what they’re paying for and why.

The problem is that much of that information is obscured when road users and governments try to sort out the role of tolling and other forms of user financing in keeping our highways safe and efficient.

When users object to tolling, they often think about the nearly 50,000 miles of Interstate highways built in the 1950s, 60s and 70s and paid for with fuel taxes. What they ignore, however, is that a system like this, over time, needs to be rebuilt and replaced. We wouldn’t expect any other piece of infrastructure (think power lines, water mains, sewage treatment plants, even your laptop computer) to keep on delivering, decade after decade, without major repairs, refurbishment, or replacement.

So should toll increases be easy to understand and clearly explained? Yes. Should users be able to see direct benefit, on the roads

Fawn, the thing we most need to place in our backpack to hike the metaphorical Pikes Peak is a copy of The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook. This gift book that we often see around the holidays contains wonderful chapter headings like “How to Escape from Quicksand,” “How to Survive a Poisonous Snake Attack,” and “How to Fend Off a Shark.”

As we contemplate the fact, which you so elegantly stated, that “there has not been a scintilla of conversation in the presidential election about infrastructure,” I think we must be prepared to fend for ourselves. There is no deus ex machina that will miraculously appear and solve the infrastructure-ignoring drama in which we live. The narrative we transportation experts like to advance – the one that says we are in a deep funding crisis, the sky is falling, and we must do something NOW or all hell will break loose – simply is not working. My point is that the condition of our infrastructure and the level of funding for it are likely to get worse

As usual, the questions this week are thoughtful and provocative. My colleagues in the expert blog have provided wonderfully thoughtful and textured responses. I compliment all of them. Therefore, I will try to respond to the questions directly and literally.

IS THERE POTENTIAL FOR ACTION ON A ROAD USER FEE? Yes.

WHAT IS TO STOP CONGRESS FROM SIMPLY PUTTING ITS HEAD IN THE SAND UNTIL THE "CLIFF" IS ALMOST HERE? Not a whole lot. Of course, we pray that thoughtful and visionary minds will prevail in the Congress. Minds like that of Cong. Earl Blumenauer who makes two startlingly simple yet important conclusions:

The federal gas tax is no longer adequate to maintain the transportation infrastructure in the U.S. Our national economic fortunes rise and fall with the quality of our infrastructure, so it is time to stop relying on the outdated and outmoded systems of the past and embrace change with a serious eye toward the future.

IS THE TECHNOLOGY THERE? Yes.

CAN THE PRIVAC

We may forgive the Congress for being schizophrenic in their desire both to preserve the current level of highway funding and to live within their means. After all, they are a reflection of us, their constituents. As a country, we have demonstrated a profound desire to have it both ways: to talk a good game on reducing deficits and the debt and at the same time to spend like there is no tomorrow.

We may also forgive them because there really isn’t “A Congress” in this country; in fact, we have multiple “Congresses.” We have the establishment Congress, the Tea Party Congress, the retiring Congress, the leadership Congress, the liberal Congress, the conservative Congress, the coastal Congress, the heartland Congress, etc. These adjectives describing the various “Congresses” are illustrative and unscientific; feel free to come up with your own. The point is, we don’t have a “Congress” in the normal sense of the word: a body of individuals committed to a unified purpose – making laws – to advance the commo

I love reading the responses to Fawn’s questions about the potential for a vehicle-miles traveled fee and have some thoughts of my own. More on that in a moment.

In the meantime, I want to let everyone know that we will probe the depths of Fawn’s questions in great detail at the Mileage Based User Fee Symposium and Transportation Finance Summit that IBTTA and several partners are hosting in Jersey City, NJ, April 29-May 1, 2012. Both Dick Mudge and Joshua Schank (respondents below) will be on the program and you can interrogate them further at the summit. You can learn more about the summit and register here.

Gabriel suggests that people are willing to pay more for a superior service and holds up the iPhone as an example. He implies that a VMT supported road should offer superior service. Agreed.

Joshua cites many potent

Fawn invites us to tell sob stories about what happens if the federal-aid highway program fails. This is what my high school and college-age children describe as a “First World Problem.” It’s the kind of problem you experience only if you live in a place that is among the richest and most well-educated 5 percent of the world’s population. In other words, America. Not being able to watch your favorite TV show because the cable is down or running out of battery power on your iPhone are other First World Problems.

Meanwhile, more than 1 million people in low income countries die each year from lower respiratory infection according to the World Health Organization. And nearly 1 billion people – that’s one in every seven people in the world – go to bed hungry each night according to the World Food Programme. Those are Problems. With a capital “P.”

Of course, we don’t want to diminish the challenges associated with the collapse of the highway program. If Congress fails to extend the program, then states w

The “Commuter Protection Act” introduced by U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and U.S. Representative Michael Grimm (R-NY) is unnecessary. While we acknowledge the good intentions of Sen. Lautenberg and Rep. Grimm, we believe the proposed Act would have a number of unintended consequences.

Under this Act, the U.S. Secretary of Transportation would be given authority to review and regulate tolls for passage over or through any bridge or tunnel on any Federal-aid highway.

The Act would add an unnecessary layer of federal oversight in what is largely a state and local process. In addition, it may constrain public and private investment in infrastructure at a time when Congress is looking to encourage further transportation investment. Most toll agency boards in America are composed of appointed or elected officials and these boards review and approve toll rate increases and provide robust oversight of agency investments and operations. This structure makes these boards attentive to and accountable to local taxpayers and voters. The addit