U.S. Transportation System
Problems and Need for New Approaches
Congress established the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) in 1956 so that Federal taxes on gasoline and other motor fuels would be used to help build and maintain a national highway system that became the envy of the world. Over the past several decades, however, increasing mobility, a greatly expanded economy and population, regional transportation challenges, and inflation in the costs of construction have rendered the current levels of HTF taxes grossly inadequate for funding even the maintainance, much less the improvement of the system. While the Federal fuel and vehicle taxes worked well and were appropriate for the mission at…
