Schumer Reveals: Older Cities Like New York Losing Out as Young Cities Gobble up Money For New Federal Highway and Bridge Projects

Standing at the base of the iconic and aging Brooklyn Bridge, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today revealed that federal short funding of vital highway and bridge maintenance programs has left New York's aging infrastructure in a state of disrepair .  Schumer said that Federal Highway Trust Fund finances have deteriorated and will be insolvent by approximately $4 billion in 2009 and $10 billion by 2010 while at the same time 27.1% of the nation's 590,750 bridges are rated structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. Though New York City has undertaken an aggressive and successful program to maintain and upgrade its bridges, Schumer said that current federal funding for newer projects far outpaces funding for upgrades and repairs to existing infrastructure, putting older cities, like New York, at a significant disadvantage and leaving their bridges, roads, and other infrastructure to degrade.

"For too long, the federal government has focused on building new bridges at the expense of fixing old ones, and now we are living with the consequences," Schumer said. "Robbing Peter to pay Paul is no way to keep America's drivers safe. It might not be sexy, but our nation's transportation infrastructure is the lifeblood of America's economy and we need to keep it healthy and flowing. The City and State have done the best they can with the resources they get to keep our bridges and highways running safely and efficiently."

Schumer said that the Minnesota bridge collapse exposes a systemic problem with highway and bridge infrastructure across the country, but especially in New York and older cities.  While the bridge in Minnesota was only 40 years old, bridges throughout New York can be 80 to over 100 years old and decades past their useful life.  New York is just one of a host of cities across the Northeast whose infrastructure is aging and degrading and in need of a massive overhaul. In New York, 35 percent of the city's more than 2,600 bridges are structurally deficient. 

However, Schumer today revealed that the distribution federal funding for highways and bridges significantly favors the construction of new projects in younger cities instead of upgrading existing infrastructure in older areas, like New York. A small number of massive new projects tend to gobble up a huge share of federal transportation subsidies leaving a far greater number of older bridges and highways to divide up a smaller pot.

Schumer today said that the gap between what the federal government actually spends on maintaining and upgrading aging highways and bridges and what the systems needs is widening dramatically.  According to a new report by the U.S. Department of Transportation, the gap between needs and actual spending grew from 8.3 percent to 12.2 percent in 2004. In addition, while spending on bridge maintenance dropped from $12.5 billion in 2004 to $12.4 billion in 2006, spending on highway and bridge expansion grew from $52.9 billion in 2004 to $58.8 billion in 2006.

Schumer said the current problem stems from the Administration blocking significant increases in federal transportation funding pushed by a coalition of Northeastern Senators, led by Schumer. When Congress last passed a major highway funding bill in 2005, the Federal Highway Administration estimated it needed $375 billion to fund repair and improvement projects, but the final bill authorized just $286 billion. The Senate had originally passed the transportation bill at the higher $375 million but the Administration and Congressional Republican's blocked it.

By only approving a smaller bill, the Administration has created an enormous gap in federal funding for existing transportation infrastructure, with the "Highway Trust Fund", the pot of money that pays for improvements, on the brink of bankruptcy.  The Office of Management and Budget (OMB), noting that the Federal Highway Trust Fund finances have deteriorated, released new estimates July 11, 2007 showing that the Highway Account is expected to go insolvent by approximately $4 billion in 2009, an increase from its February estimate of $700 million. That deficit will rise to $8.1 billion by 2010.

"This disaster must be a wakeup call to get our nation's transportation infrastructure in order.  For far too long, highways and bridges in New York and across the country have been allowed to degrade to the point of dangerous disrepair.  The Senate has legislation to provide $5 billion for bridge replacement and rehabilitation - we will pas that bill and the President must sign it. We need a comprehensive effort at the federal, state and local level to ensure this type of collapse never happens again."

To close this dramatic funding gap and prevent another disaster, Schumer today called on President Bush to remove his threat to veto the Fiscal Year 2008 Transportation Appropriations Bill that includes $5 billion in new funding for bridge upgrades and maintenance. The Senate version of the Fiscal Year 2008 Transportation Appropriations Bill includes $5.017 billion for bridge replacement and rehab, an increase from $4.123 billion in Fiscal Year 2007. The bill has passed the Senate Appropriations Committee and is expected to be considered by the full Senate this fall.

Schumer today also announced that when the Transportation Appropriations Bill comes to the floor he will introduce an amendment to double funding up to $10 billion exclusively for current bridge repairs and upgrades. This funding would be directed to fixing existing bridges.