WASHINGTON 鈥� About a quarter of the bridges in the United States are in poor condition and U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx says unless funding is supplemented, drivers will be increasingly susceptible to worsening roads and failing bridges.
Investing in the nation鈥檚 infrastructure is vital, Foxx said on 91欧美激情 Friday. Foxx鈥檚 visit came less than a week after a and hit聽a car driving on Suitland Road. The driver was not hurt, but the vehicle was damaged.
The Prince George’s County bridge, which had been deemed structurally deficient, was slated for repairs before the incident.
鈥淭his is deferred maintenance that has been piling up year, after year, after year, and you鈥檙e seeing the effects of that now,鈥� Foxx said of the bridge.
鈥淭his is the kind of thing we can expect if we don鈥檛 invest more in our infrastructure.鈥�
Since the incident, Maryland Transportation Secretary聽Pete Rahn of 27 state-run bridges.
Foxx says he wants to 鈥渕ove the country forward鈥� by relieving congestion in growing metropolitan areas, but it is difficult with the current budget. The Department of Transportation budget for is $90.9 billion. In , the department鈥檚 budget was $77 billion.
鈥淲ith the budget we have right now, we are not even doing all of the deferred maintenance we have,鈥� he says.
Foxx did not say how much he thinks the department needs for the budget.
Local bridges aren鈥檛 the only source of conflict in the area. Metro is under scrutiny after the .
Foxx says the department will begin a separate federal investigation of the Metro incident.
鈥淲e are never comfortable when there are accidents as the one that happened recently and even going back a few years,鈥� Foxx said.
While Foxx says the department is supporting NTSB and the investigation that they’ve undertaken, the , an agency under the DOT, will begin its own investigation.
The federal investigation will begin March 2.
The Department of Transportation recently launched聽its study 鈥� a look at the framework needed to meet transportation goals over the next 30 years. Foxx says the report will help聽determine priorities for future generations.
“The challenge we have is giving ourselves the resources to relieve congestion and move the country forward,” he said.
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