American Association of Port Authorities | 5
nels at their federally-authorized dimen-
sions, less than two-thirds of that money is
being appropriated for its intended purpose,
resulting in serious dredging needs being ne-
glected. At the same time, federal funding
for constructing deeper navigation channels
is sparse at best, although project sponsors
– usually ports – pay between 35 percent
and 60 percent of the cost, depending on the
project depth.
Landside connections with ports also
continue to be a low federal priority, with
little of the highway funds going to freight
transportation projects. In its 2013 report,
“Falling Apart and Falling Behind,”
Building America’s Future Education
Fund explains how international economic
competitors are sprinting ahead of the U.S.,
citing a series of sobering statistics, such as
U.S. infrastructure has dropped from first
place in the World Economic Forum’s 2005
economic competitiveness ranking to No.
15 today, that China now boasts six of the
world’s top 10 ports while none are located
in the U.S. and the U.S. is one of the only
leading nations without a national plan for
public-private partnerships for infrastruc-
ture projects or a national infrastructure
bank to finance large-scale projects and le-
verage private capital.
