n his prediction of the passage of a funding measure to help repair the nation’s aging infrastructure, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood correctly argued this week that there are no Democratic or Republican roads or bridge.
According to LaHood, transportation is and should remain bipartisan. We believe he makes a valid argument. Lahood, who served as the keynote speaker Monday at the International Transportation and Economic Development Conference in Charleston, didn’t attempt to downplay the nation’s highway infrastructure needs. He was joined at the conference by several lawmakers, including U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., and U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va.
LaHood predicted that Congress will find a way to balance tackling the federal deficit while still allocating sufficient funding for transportation, the Associated Press reported. Lahood, a former Republican U.S. House member from Illinois, said the promise of jobs will help ensure passage of a transportation funding measure this year despite the growing divide in Congress over government spending and the federal debt.
It is our hope that LaHood’s prediction will come true. The need for new modern highways is critical across southern West Virginia and Southwest Virginia. Two particularly important highway projects in our region, the King Coal Highway and the Coalfields Expressway, are key pieces of the region’s infrastructure puzzle.
Supporters of both highway projects are looking to Congress, and a new federal highway transportation bill, to help jump-start construction on the future four-lane corridors.
Specifically, additional federal funds will be needed to help create a usable segment of the King Coal Highway in Mercer County connecting the new interstate bridges above Stoney Ridge with Airport Road, and to build the long-delayed interchange of the Coalfields Expressway and the King Coal Highway in McDowell County at the Indian Ridge Industrial Park in Welch.
According to Rahall, every $1 billion invested in transportation yields approximately 36,000 jobs and $6.2 billion in economic activity. Rahall makes a good point. In tough economic times, every job — even those construction jobs that may only be temporary in nature — should be welcomed.
Lawmakers in Washington are going to have find common ground when it comes to tackling the federal debt while also addressing our nation’s aging infrastructure. After all, roads and bridges and other modern infrastructure shouldn’t be a Democratic or Republican issue. Instead, they should simply be considered a necessity.
Editorials
May 5, 2011
Infrastructure needs: New transportation bill a necessity
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