AASHTO Journal, 10 November 2016
In his first public remarks after claiming victory, President-elect Donald Trump repeated his campaign pledge to invest heavily in transportation and other infrastructure projects.
Trump, in a victory speech he delivered early on Nov. 9, said: “We are going to fix our inner cities and rebuild our highways, bridges, tunnels, airports, schools, hospitals. We’re going to rebuild our infrastructure, which will become, by the way, second to none. And we will put millions of our people to work as we rebuild it.”
Trump made his remarks after opponent Hillary Clinton called him to concede the election, as news agencies showed him winning enough electoral votes to win the contest.
During the campaign, Trump said he would pursue an infrastructure investment package in the range of $1 trillion over 10 years, or double the size of the plan offered by rival candidate Hilary Clinton. His plan would reportedly rely heavily on tax credits to spur private investment in transportation projects.
Trump’s plan will have to win approval from a potentially friendly Congress. The Republican Party retained control of both chambers.
His campaign web site, in a position paper on infrastructure, said his administration would “implement a bold, visionary plan for a cost-effective system of roads, bridges, tunnels, airports, railroads, ports and waterways, and pipelines in the proud tradition of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who championed the interstate highway system.”
Trump’s position document said he would “leverage new revenues and work with financing authorities, public-private partnerships, and other prudent funding opportunities.”
It also pledged to “harness market forces to help attract new private infrastructure investments through a deficit-neutral system of infrastructure tax credits.”
In recent weeks officials from a number of industry groups, including the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, had been meeting with representatives of both campaign’s transition teams about infrastructure issues. AASHTO Executive Director Bud Wright had also offered the association’s expertise to help transition teams develop detailed project and funding plans.
The chairman and the acting president of the transit-focused American Public Transportation Association, Doran Barnes and Richard White, said in a Nov. 9 statement: “President-Elect Trump spoke of the need for increased infrastructure investment during his campaign and APTA is grateful to have had the opportunity to share its perspective and expertise with the transition team in recent months.”
They also said that “APTA members stand ready to build on this work with President-Elect Trump and Vice President-Elect [Mike] Pence on revitalizing our economy and creating jobs through greater federal investment in infrastructure . . . As nearly 60 percent of the trips taken on public transportation are for work commutes, we believe that a significant portion of his infrastructure proposal should be dedicated to public transportation.”
And Pete Ruane, president of the American Road & Transportation Builders Association, said in a statement that “despite a highly partisan political environment, Republicans and Democrats have routinely worked in a bipartisan manner to support infrastructure legislation. All sides should view a long-term infrastructure package as an opportunity for the two parties to come together and make meaningful progress for the American people.”