Time to act on Brent Spence Bridge and nation's crumbling infrastructure

Jay Timmons is the president and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers.

Every day, more than 172,000 vehicles cross the Brent Spence Bridge. The bridge does more than connect Ohio and Kentucky. It connects manufacturers with their customers and workers with their jobs. It connects the United States with the world economy. The freight that crosses the bridge is equal to three percent of the nation’s GDP.

But as those in the Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky area know too well, this vital bridge has fallen into disrepair. The Federal Highway Administration classifies the bridge as functionally obsolete. Investments to replace it are repeatedly delayed, even though it has been forced to accommodate more than twice the traffic it was built to carry.

Lives are at risk. Businesses are saddled with the costs of delays. Job creation and economic growth suffer as a result.

A $2.7 billion proposal to replace the bridge and make related highway upgrades is stalled. The price tag may sound high, but according to the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, the plan would provide more than $18 billion of economic benefits over 20 years. Delay has consequences, though. Inaction is wasteful and adds more than $220,000 each day to the price tag of the entire project.

It is troubling that our political leaders – in both parties and at all levels of government – have not made real progress to get this project moving. But what is really alarming is that the Brent Spence Bridge is not an isolated problem. Bridges in the United States are in dire condition, with 10 percent of them, or more than 55,000 bridges in total, deemed “structurally deficient.” That is just part of the even larger story about America’s antiquated infrastructure.

According to the World Economic Forum, the United States does not even rank in the top 10 in the world for overall infrastructure quality. Our country has spent less and less on our infrastructure – roads and bridges, ports and waterways and public transit – down from about 3.8 percent of GDP in 1970 to 1.5 percent in 2012. We are falling behind the rest of the world. China is spending more on infrastructure each year than North America and Europe combined.

There is some hope, though, that we may finally move forward. President Trump has declared that he wants to pursue a major $1 trillion investment in American infrastructure to make our infrastructure second-to-none. Manufacturers agree and are calling on elected officials to work together to turn those words into reality.

Manufacturers in the United States have stepped up to be part of the solution. The National Association of Manufacturers released a blueprint for a major infrastructure initiative. Titled “Building to Win,” it identifies and quantifies many of the most serious problems, outlines some top priorities and even offers a menu of funding options.

To pay for these investments, we will need a combination of public funding programs and public-private partnerships. Good governance measures, including expedited environmental review and an independent commission to evaluate top priorities as well as other innovative approaches, should be part of the equation. “Building to Win” spells it all out.

We also have to be diligent to ensure any infrastructure push is an effective use of resources and not an expensive waste of time and money – as many have characterized the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, otherwise known as the “stimulus.”

Our politics in America has become far too divisive, but infrastructure can and should be an area where our parties and our leaders can come together. Infrastructure improvements will create jobs, spur economic growth, strengthen manufacturing in the United States, save lives and improve our quality of living.

The time to act is now. The need is urgent. Promises have been made to tackle our infrastructure woes. The American people are ready for leadership. The only question is whether our leaders will step up and work together to do what is necessary and right for the nation.