A federal piecemeal approach to rebuilding America’s lagging transportation infrastructure has cost this country more than 900,000 jobs, according to Duke University social science researchers.
Furthermore, the researchers found that the United States invests on average $848 per person annually on transportation compared to the European Union’s $2,589 per person. This underinvestment has contributed to a $900 billion backlog in needed investments and repairs in the U.S., according to a report titled “Infrastructure Investment Creates American Jobs."
“Infrastructure capacity constraints lead to delays, congestion, and disruptions that affect everyone: citizens, consumers, manufacturers, buyers, sellers, importers and exporters,” says Lukas Brun, senior research analyst at Duke University’s Center on Globalization, Governance & Competitiveness (CGGC). “Rebuilding world-class transportation infrastructure in the United States increases the efficiency of domestic commerce and international trade. And it creates American jobs.”
Other findings include:
- Every $1 billion invested in transportation infrastructure creates 21,671 jobs
- A long-term transportation bill of $114 billion annually would support upwards of 2.5 million American jobs and rebuild our underperforming infrastructure.
- Every dollar invested in transportation infrastructure returns $3.54 in economic impact.
- Deficient and decaying infrastructure makes the United States less competitive than many of our top trading partners, with global assessments ranking the United States 16 out of 144 nations and 6 among our top 15 trading partners.