Failing transit system needs long-term solution

Nashville is becoming known for jams — and not just the ones created by its country music stars. Our region has a traffic problem — and it's guaranteed to only get worse. As a state, Tennessee ranks 13th in vehicle miles traveled annually. Because our roads cannot handle the growing number of vehicles, we all experience a lot of bumper-to-bumper traffic. Congestion is not just inconvenient. It costs every Tennessee family and business hundreds of dollars each year.

Investing in transportation infrastructure strengthens the economy, improves road safety and makes the Nashville region an attractive place to raise a family and own a business. Unfortunately, our ability to invest in our future is threatened by a declining source of transportation funding. In the past 20 years, the federal tax on gasoline has lost one-third of its purchasing power. As other household costs have risen naturally with inflation, the fuel tax has remained flat since 1993.

This same dynamic is playing out in Tennessee, with the state's gas tax failing to keep up with the needs of our state highway system. At the federal level, this situation has reached a crisis point, with an insolvent Highway Trust Fund threatening to stop all future highway construction projects across the country. Congress voted this past summer for a temporary fix that transfers general funds to the Highway Trust Fund until May 2015, which is not how we should be funding our transportation system.

Our country needs a long-term solution to fund our nation's transportation infrastructure. One common-sense proposal discussed in the U.S. Senate earlier this year would provide the needed revenue for the Highway Trust Fund while providing an equal amount of tax relief to Americans in other areas. Under that plan, the federal fuel tax would get a 12-cent raise over the next two years, bringing it up to a level that will begin to support today's infrastructure investment needs. The tax would then be tied to inflation so that revenues match the increased cost of building and maintaining roads.

The Senate proposal would cost the average driver less than $3 per week, totaling about $156 a year. This is a nominal amount compared with not making the investment. Additionally, Sen. Bob Corker's plan would reduce taxes elsewhere for Americans by an equal or greater amount. Currently, 43 percent of Tennessee's major urban highways are congested, according to TRIP, a transportation research group. Sen. Corker's proposal would help reverse these trends through investment. Widening I-65 north of Nashville, which carries more than 142,000 vehicles a day, is an example of how an investment in roads and bridges can be a catalyst for economic development. In addition to fewer potholes and less traffic congestion, the design will improve safety at the split with I-24. Such projects take careful planning and design, and they require the federal government as a funding partner.

The American Society of Civil Engineers' (ASCE) economic study, Failure to Act — The Economic Impact of Current Investment Trends in Surface Transportation Infrastructure, estimated insufficient road and bridge conditions would cost the average American family $1,060 per year by 2020. The choice is clear. We can either invest now or pay more in the long run.

Fortunately, we have elected leaders who are working hard to ensure Tennessee and the Nashville region can build and maintain the transportation infrastructure necessary to support our future growth. Sen. Bob Corker has actively sought creative and fiscally responsible solutions to the challenges facing the federal highway trust fund.

All of our elected officials should be encouraged to find workable, bipartisan solutions to address the enormous challenges posed by an aging transportation infrastructure. Our region's future prosperity depends on it.

Garland P. Rose Jr., P.E., F.ASCE, D.WRE, is a life member (40 years) of the American Society of Civil Engineers.