Money for Highways

Drivers all over are finding that when they hit the road, the road hits back. Highways built or rebuilt after World War II are scarred with cracks and potholes. Bridges have collapsed. Poorly designed roads have resulted in deaths. Everyone agrees that crumbling highways should be fixed. No one wants to pay the bill.

Engineers say U.S. highways rate a D+ grade. Still, U.S. roads are in better shape than those in Sweden, the U.K., New Zealand and Australia, according to a separate global survey by the World Economic Forum. Even in Germany, where the autobahn was born, western highways are in poor shape because the government shifted billions of euros to rebuild roads in the former East Germany after reunification. In 2014, Germany voted to have non-German vehicles pay tolls to finance repairs; the plan is on hold because EU regulators say it discriminates against foreigners. Most nations tax fuel and pay for road repairs out of their general budgets, which are not as fat as they used to be. The U.S. pays for highways in part by charging drivers a fuel tax and funneling the money to states through a national Highway Trust Fund. In 2015, as the fund was almost out of money, Congress voted one extension in July and another in October before it agreed on a plan in December to provide $281 billion over five years for roads, bridges and mass transit. Both major-party U.S. presidential candidates, Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton, are calling for even more infrastructure spending.