Oct. 28 (Bloomberg) -- The morning rush in Philadelphia ran 30 minutes longer than usual earlier this month when a joint in the Interstate 95 roadway came loose, shutting part of the artery and causing traffic to back up at least two miles.

The U.S. House's transportation panel will hear from 19 witnesses tomorrow on boosting infrastructure spending after Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked committee chairs to suggest contents for a potential post-election economic stimulus package. While the California Democrat hasn't announced a spending target, a plan last month included $12.8 billion for roads. That wouldn't be enough to plug a $19 billion hole projected in the federal Highway Trust Fund next year.

``There are huge investments that need to be made,'' said Robert Puentes, a Brookings Institution fellow in Washington. ``We don't have enough money now to pay for the maintenance of the system we have in place.''

Peoria, Illinois-based Caterpillar Inc., whose mining and road-building gear generated 63 percent of revenue last year, estimates a need for as much as $700 billion in infrastructure spending to keep U.S. businesses competitive with those in China, where new roads, bridges, ports and airports are giving companies an edge, said Group President Doug Oberhelman.

``You don't have to drive or fly very far to see how bad the infrastructure of this country has really become,'' he said in a phone interview. ``It's a fabulous way to drive the economy and create jobs.''

`Gray Area'

While HNTB Holdings Inc., a Kansas City, Missouri, engineering firm that helps states design highways, sees ``general support'' for more construction spending, ``everything right now, I think, is a little bit in the gray area,'' said Paul Yarossi, the company's president.

More money to unclog traffic is crucial for Fort Worth, Texas-based Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp., which received almost a third of its revenue last quarter from shipments that moved by highways and rail.

``It's a unique opportunity,'' Matt Rose, the second- largest U.S. railroad's chief executive officer, said in an interview. ``Highway construction is pretty stimulative to the economy. It really does put people to work.''

Average traffic delays in the 437 largest U.S. urban areas almost tripled between 1982 and 2005, according to the Texas Transportation Institute in College Station.

The government's congestion cure, the $43 billion annual Trust Fund, needed an $8 billion bailout last month to keep from going bust.

Spending Reserves

The fund, which gets 90 percent of revenue from federal gasoline levies, was depleted because Congress and President George W. Bush decided to spend down reserves. With motorists driving less for 10 consecutive months, tax receipts have also fallen.

``Relying on the gas tax is like relying on cardboard to keep the rain out; the longer you use it the less it works,'' U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said in a statement Oct. 24.

The $8 billion bailout should bolster the fund through the year that ends next Sept. 30, barring a worsening economy, according to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials in Washington. In fiscal 2010, available funds will fall to $24 billion, leaving a $19 billion gap, the group projected.

Congressional leaders and presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain haven't suggested long-term fixes. Both candidates have said they wouldn't raise the gasoline tax.

After the Bridge

That leaves two choices when a $286.5 billion highway law expires next year: cut funding or find revenue elsewhere. It will be the law's first renewal since the ``bridge to nowhere'' in Alaska focused attention on earmark spending and the Minneapolis bridge collapse in 2007 put a spotlight on deteriorating U.S. infrastructure.

Obama pledged to create a National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank, financed with $60 billion in federal funds over 10 years. He also plans a $25 billion ``Jobs and Growth Fund'' to prevent cutbacks in road and bridge maintenance and for school repair.

The Democrat hasn't proposed a Highway Trust Fund solution because ``we will need to understand more fully the state of the economy and the budget next year,'' said former Transportation Secretary Federico Pena, an Obama adviser.

McCain has said he wants to remove earmarking from the federal highway bill, which may save as much as $6 billion a year. ``It's tough to say'' what McCain's long-term solution would be, said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, his economic adviser.

No Ready Fix

``There's an enormous budgetary moment of disarray that we're looking at,'' Holtz-Eakin said. ``There's going to have to be moving around the deck chairs to make all this add up.''

Congress won't have the will to raise the gas tax in a hard-hit economy next year, former Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta said. As a result, ``all other sources are going to have to be examined.''.

The new president and Congress may need three or four years to develop a permanent fix for the Trust Fund's deficit, said former Transportation Secretary James Burnley.

``That means more short-term patches,'' he said. ``It's going to take a long time for things to settle.''

Making a permanent fix to Philadelphia's part of Interstate 95, which links the city to New York and Washington, will cost about twice as much as the state's entire $2 billion annual road budget, state Transportation Secretary Allen Biehler said after the Oct. 9 rush-hour incident.

``We don't have 3 to 5 billion dollars,'' he said in an interview.

To contact the reporter on this story: John Hughes in Washington at jhughes5@bloomberg.netAngela Greiling Keane in Washington at agreilingkea@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: October 28, 2008 13:55 EDT