Roads and Bridges
Roads and bridges are the driving forces of our economy. Our transportation system is a key component in maintaining the quality of life for Alabama residents as well as attracting new business, further expanding existing industries, and growing the tourism industry.
Businesses benefit when goods can be shipped more efficiently. Both businesses and individuals benefit when travel times and costs are reduced.
Just as state of the art transportation infrastructure enhances the economy, a neglected road and bridge system has a negative economic impact. The sad fact is that we only increased lane miles by 6 % while vehicle travel on those roads increased by 70 %. In our major cities, the need for roads has increased at 12 times the rate of current service and construction.
Sadly, the current condition of our infrastructure is unacceptable. The safety of our people and the well-being of our economy are at risk. We have miles of highway in this state that are in such disrepair that vehicles risk damage by traveling on them. We have bridges that are so unsafe that school buses and emergency vehicles have to travel alternate routes to avoid catastrophe. Without a renewed commitment to our highway infrastructure, we are courting disaster.
13 % of Alabama’s major roads and highways have pavement in poor or mediocre condition. Due to accelerated depreciation, additional repair costs, and increased fuel consumption, poor road conditions cost Alabama motorists $601 million each year.
While our roads are in disrepair, our bridges are in even worse shape. About a quarter of the state’s bridges are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, which translates to nearly 1,500 of Alabama’s bridges failing to meet modern design standards for safety and no longer have the capacity to support traffic volume.
While our state troopers continue to do an excellent job, the average number of people killed each year on Alabama roads from 2002 to 2006 was 42 percent higher than the national average.
I find this completely unacceptable and as your next governor, I’m going to do something about it.
Today, I am proposing the most comprehensive infrastructure program in Alabama history.
I fully support the constitutional amendment being sponsored and backed by a bipartisan coalition in the legislature. However, I feel an infusion of economic activity created by this plan does not do enough fast enough.
In addition to the $100 million per year proposed in the legislative plan, my proposal calls for an additional and an immediate infusion of $400 million in the construction and repair of roads and bridges.
My proposal will be funded through the issue of GARVEE bonds; a bonding program that uses future federal infrastructure grant funds to finance the debt service on the bonds. This type of financing has been utilized successfully by many states, including Alabama and is a proven means of front loading infrastructure investments.
The funding will be dispersed according to a formula that will be developed in close consultation with the Department of Transportation, the Alabama League of Municipalities and the Association of County Commissioners. I am a firm believer that local officials must have an active voice in deciding where this money is spent.
According to the Federal Highway Administration, every dollar spent on road construction and repair, multiplies itself 4 to 5 times in our economy. My road and bridge program will have an annual economic impact of nearly $1 billion.
This proposal will create thousands of jobs, improve highway safety, attract new industry, and literally pull our state out of the greatest economic downturn of our lifetime.
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