Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Says New Investment Can Rebuild America’s Highway System. Tolling Can Help.

The United States faced a capital investment backlog of $836 billion in 2012, but the right investment strategy will close the funding and financing gap by 2032, the U.S. Federal Highway Administration concludes this month in the latest edition of its Conditions & Performance report to Congress.

Highway spending increased at 2.6% per year from 2002 to 2012 after accounting for inflation, FHWA reports. Capital expenditures rose from $68.2 to $105.2 billion over the same period, for an inflation-adjusted rate of 2.1% per year. The federal share of highway funding decreased from 46.1 to 43.1%, while the share of highway capital investment devoted to system rehabilitation increased from 53.1 to 59%.

But the results on America’s roadways were decidedly mixed. Bridge conditions have improved, overall highway safety trends were positive, but highways’ operational performance was still declining.

“With a new administration taking office and an ambitious infrastructure plan being discussed, these numbers couldn’t come at a better time,” comments IBTTA Executive Director and CEO Patrick Jones. “There’s no doubt that Washington plays a critical role in funding surface transportation and keeping America moving forward. And there’s no doubt that private funding has an essential role to play.”

“It’s a good thing the Executive Branch and Congress can count on tolling as an essential tool in the highway funding and financing toolbox. And, one, with a long history,” he adds.

The Condition of America’s Highways: Lots More Ground to Cover

The FHWA report shows that recent investments in transportation infrastructure are paying off, but the country still has a lot more ground to cover.

The proportion of bridges classed as “structurally deficient”—meaning that the crossing needs attention, but isn’t necessarily unsafe—declined by nearly a quarter, from 14.2 to 11%, from 2002 to 2012.

Highway deaths were down by 21.4%, from 1.51 to 1.14 per hundred million vehicle miles travelled (VMT). Between 2012 and 2015, the number of annual highway deaths increased from 33,782 to 35,092, but the tally per hundred million VMT dropped to 1.08.

The Texas Transportation Institute estimated congestion-related highway delays at 41 hours per commuter per year in 2012, compared to 39 hours in 2002. The total hours lost to highway gridlock increased from 5.6 to 6.7 billion, an all-time high. The cost of those delays, in wasted time and fuel, increased from $124 to $154 billion.

Closing the $836-Billion Gap

So how do you close an $836-billion gap in capital investment? For FHWA, the answer comes down to a choice of future investment scenarios.

If the country sustained its 2012 funding levels at an inflation-adjusted $105.2 billion per year through 2032, federal highways would improve 4.5%, average delays per VMT would decline 13.4%, and the proportion of bridges considered structurally deficient would drop from 8.2 to 2.9%.

But with a 35.5% increase, to $142.5 billion per year in 2012 dollars, the U.S. could complete all highway investments with a neutral or positive benefit-cost ratio. That would bring major improvements on pavement quality, bridge reconstruction, and congestion.

It sounds like a great way to overhaul a system that too often seems destined to Make America Late Again. But that doesn’t mean public funds are available to get all the work done—or that they need to be.

As the incoming administration considers the role of public-private partnerships in its $1-trillion infrastructure plan, tolling will have an important contribution to make. We’re looking forward to rolling up our sleeves and helping to make the positive potential in the FHWA Conditions & Performance report a reality.

Tolling is an essential tool in the wider toolbox of funding and financing options for the nation’s highways, bridges, and tunnels. Click here for background on IBTTA’s public awareness campaign for the tolling industry, here for a first look at the association’s 2017 Summit on Finance, Policy, VMT, April 23-25, 2017 in Jersey City, NJ.