Howdo you see that going?
DAVENPORT:
We're optimistic about
it. The administration has been, in the past
few months, really pushing hard to find
solutions to the Highway Trust Fund, and
at the time of this interview, it appears some
solutions, whether temporary or long-term,
may be close at hand.
I think most members of Congress would
acknowledge that highways, roadways and
airports are extremely important to their
constituents. Our nation's transportation
infrastructure is of course the means by
which people get from point A to point B.
Beyond the personal mobility aspects, our
transportation infrastructure is a key to
competitiveness in the global marketplace.
There are safety and security aspects, too.
We're acutely aware of the many challenges
the nation is facing, but we cannot continue
to ignore our surface transportation
infrastructure, which continues to fall into
further disrepair. Our system suffers from
capacity issues; road-user delays; safety
concerns; andother issues.
Nations that invest in their transportation
infrastructure tend to be the ones that are
leading the world in terms of business,
commerce, defense andmore.
As a nation, we cannot continue to remain a
leading-edge, 21st century nation with
highways and other facilities that were
designed for our needs in the mid- to late-
20th century. We've got to modernize.
We've got to make that investment, or we're
going to see the nation's stature decline and
put us in a very vulnerable situation on
many different fronts.
This may seem like a grim prognostication,
but we remain hopeful that our elected
officials will seize the opportunity to
provide the policy and funding solutions
that not only serve business and industry,
but also benefit the traveling public across
the nation.
July-August 2014
| BusinessWorld | 167
