During National Infrastructure Week, CAGTC calls for $12B annually in dedicated freight funding to ensure a strong freight network

In celebration of Infrastructure Week, the Coalition for America’s Gateways and Trade Corridors (CAGTC) today unveiled two new educational tools, which explain why our national freight infrastructure must be improved to meet the demands of a growing economy. Number 14 in a series that began in 2005, Follow that Bubble Gum traces a supply chain that begins by sourcing ingredients at a sugar farm in south Florida, traveling to a confectionary facility, packaged and manufactured in the United States and finally ends as a finished product at a gift shop in Cooperstown, NY. In its third edition of Freight Can’t Wait, CAGTC has compiled examples of freight infrastructure projects across the country that stand to benefit national supply chains, and the economy as a whole, if they had funding assistance.

“Infrastructure Week offers an opportunity to focus both lawmakers and the public on freight networks that we rely upon every day. Years of underinvestment in our national freight systems has led to increased congestion and transportation costs, which pose a threat to U.S. competitiveness,” said CAGTC President Leslie Blakey. “To help address these needs, our Coalition calls for a minimum annual federal investment of $12 billion through a multimodal freight competitive grant program. Dedicated competitive grants are critical to funding large-scale freight infrastructure projects.”
Experience has shown that such grants, like INFRA and BUILD, spur innovation and creative funding and financing arrangements, which leverage the federal dollar. Because of their size and scale and often multimodal and multijurisdictional nature, such projects can be difficult to fund through traditional federal programs. State and local governments can be encouraged to bring the best financing arrangement when seeking federal assistance, which results in a better deal for American taxpayers.
Existing grant programs are oversubscribed. In the combined fiscal years 2017 and 2018, the U.S. Department of Transportation received $12 in unique requests for every $1 available in the INFRA grant program. All 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico have submitted applications to the program, demonstrating freight infrastructure needs across the nation.
“We’re pleased to launch our latest Follow that Freight brochure and Freight Can’t Wait booklet during Infrastructure Week to increase awareness of the freight network’s inextricable link to our national economy and our ability to compete in the world marketplace,” said Tim Lovain, CAGTC Board Chairman and also of Crossroads Strategies. “Once completed, the projects in our Freight Can’t Wait booklet will improve the overall supply chain by reducing congestion, eliminating bottlenecks, and improving the overall safety, efficiency and reliability of the movement of goods and people.”