Automobile Industry

House Keeps Highway Trust Fund Alive—For Another Two Months

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House Keeps Highway Trust Fund Alive—For Another Two Months

Has there ever been a time in American history when American infrastructure was in good shape and not falling apart? Nope.

There has been an over-investment in highways and roads in America. There are more lane-miles of highways then ever before in history. We keep building more bridges and paving more miles. The growth of the highway system is a major source of the growing cost to maintain it all.

If we had less money in the system, we'd have to decide if it's finally time to take lane miles out of the system -- abandoning some bridges and little used roads. We might replace urban interstates with their costly fly-over ramps with lower-cost city streets.

Why It’s A Bad Idea To Tax People For Every Mile They Drive

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Why It’s A Bad Idea To Tax People For Every Mile They Drive

Rather then taxing people for every mile they drive, they should tax people on specific congested expressways and intersections, especially during times of congestion. Raise the price, and people will consider alternative routes or use public transit.

Back in the day, tolling roads required toll booths. But now with license plate readers and technology like EZ-Pass, there is no reason why most urban expressways and roads couldn't be tolled during times of congestion for purposes of revenue generation and congestion reduction.