Reforming infrastructure financing with 2020 vision

America’s infrastructure is rapidly deteriorating, and the situation will soon become dire as the population continues to grow and maintenance budgets remain stagnant. This paper discusses the challenge of infrastructure financing and summarizes the leading options for meeting this challenge. The author also proposes a method for reforming infrastructure finance in the United States. One of the major problems in current infrastructure finance is that there is no dedicated predictable funding source for new and existing infrastructure. To overcome this challenge, an overarching infrastructure financing system is needed in which the costs of infrastructure are borne proportionately. A transportation utility fee (TUF) model, based on the proportional-share principles of the dual rational nexus test, is proposed as a means to offload road maintenance costs from the general fund to a self-funded sustainable revenue stream. The fee could be based on the estimated number of trips a particular use (e.g., single-family, multi-family, commercial, office, industrial) generates. The bill for the TUF could be part of an annual property tax assessment of wrapped into regular utility bills. The TUF concept could be extended to other facility maintenance fees, but states would first need to broaden facility financing authority to include facility maintenance fees earmarked for operations and maintenance costs.