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AASHTO offers options for closing funding gap

WASHINGTON, D.C. - According a congressional commission, the gap between current revenues available for surface transportation and capital needs each year is $137 billion.

In recognition of the need to discuss a broad range of tools to address this "funding gap," a new report from the AASHTO Center for Excellence in Project Finance outlines a number of options for meeting revenue needs.

This report is a result of a wide-ranging forum held for members of Congress and their staff in September 2010, at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center. Entitled Funding and Financing Solutions for Surface Transportation in the Coming Decade, more than a hundred people took part in the discussions that were organized around six sessions that addressed:

• Near- and medium-term funding options for the Federal surface transportation programs
• Expanded applications of current Federal financing tools
• Best funding and financing practices at the state and local level

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.), Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), and former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell were among the many public- and private-sector leaders who participated in the forum and contributed to the conference report.

In addition, the AASHTO Center for Excellence in Project Finance has enhanced its website to include a new interactive map with detailed state-by-state transportation data from 1992 to 2008 for:

Demographics
State Roadway System
Toll Facilities
Revenue Sources
State DOT Spending
Motor Fuel Taxes

To view both the forum report and the state-by-state information, visit the AASHTO Center for Excellence in Project Finance website at http://www.transportation-finance.org.