OUTLOOK '90S. THE INFRASTRUCTURE

The grim aspects of the current surface transportation situation are discussed. Rectifying these problems will require a massive spending program, more than 3 trillion in the next 15 years for the upgrading of all levels of roads, highways and bridges. However, beyond 1991, there is no federal transportation policy or spending program for improving the infrastructure. A Commitment of all levels of government to provide the necessary funds is needed to avoid a national catastrophe. Currently, the $14 billion collected annually by the federal government comes from highway user taxes that go into the Highway Trust Fund earmarked for the highway system, with the trucking industry picking a good share of the bill. There is general agreement that for a new highway program to move ahead, a large share of the funding will have to come from increasing the highway user taxes. To do this, Congress must pass legislation extending the federal program. The states will have to be the other major source of funding. States will have to use private contributions to meet local needs, and together with federal resources, forge partnerships to support a national strategy to meet the nation's transportation needs. Other aspects that may impact on the future transportation scenario, are new equipment configurations in the trucking industry, intelligent vehicle/intelligent highway system technology, and the anticipated shortage in highway engineers in the next 5 years.