Report On Long Term Financing Needs For Surface Transportation

This report lays out the long term funding strategies and corresponding steps that our nation must take in order to sustain and improve upon our world-class transportation system for the next fifty years.

This report presents basic principles of debt issuance for public agencies. The primary focus is on the current practices of state agencies with responsibilities for surface transportation investment. The report may be useful in assisting in the decision on when and how to best use debt financing techniques to fund investments in transportation infrastructure. Anticipated audiences include those with financial oversight responsibilities for state departments of transportation (DOTs), public authorities, and local governments. Others who may benefit include legislative oversight committees and the media. Information for this report was gathered through a literature review, a comprehensive survey of state DOTs, selected interviews, and a study of selected state policies, guidelines, and documentation. Tamar Henkin, on behalf of TransTech Management, Inc., Washington, D.C., collected and synthesized the information and wrote the report. The members of the topic panel are acknowledged on the preceding page. This synthesis is an immediately useful document that records the practices that were acceptable within the limitations of the knowledge available at the time of its preparation. As progress in research and practice continues, new knowledge will be added to that now at hand.

"TRB's Conference Proceedings 48: Financing Surface Transportation in the United States: Forging a Sustainable Future--Now summarizes a May, 2010 conference that focused on developments in innovative funding techniques and options for securing continued revenue to support national infrastructure and mobility needs. Views presented in Conference Proceedings 48 reflect the opinions of the individual participants and are not necessarily the views of all conference participants, the planning committee, TRB, or the National Research Council."--Publisher's description.

Report provides information about the processes that state and regional transportation decisionmakers use to analyze and select transportation infrastructure investments.