Funding can be used to help transportation needs. Money can pay for maintenance and construction of transportation facilities, purchase new transit vehicles or systems to help alleviate highway congestion, and provide new technologies to improve highway operation. Although there are significant and growing needs for transportation spending, many experts agree that the amount spent on transportation so far has not matched the requirements. In 2002, FHWA estimated that revenues for 2004 were $21 billion short of the level of expenditure needed to maintain the nation's roadway system and $15 billion short of the level needed to maintain the nation's transit system.38 AASHTO projected even more significant spending deficiencies, with revenue $37 billion short for highway spending and $19 billion short for transit.39
According to a report published by the Hudson Institute, even if highway and transit revenues were increased by amounts that FHWA and AASHTO estimate they are deficient, the increase would be sufficient only to maintain the current physical condition of pavement, bridges and transit infrastructure. It would not be enough to improve the transportation system to meet the rapid growth in population and economic activity.40 FHWA estimated that 2004 revenues were $52 billion short of the amount needed to improve the highway system and $21 billion short of the amount needed to improve the transit system.41 AASHTO estimated a $71 billion shortfall in 2004 revenues to improve highways and a $29 billion shortfall needed for improvements to the transit system.
A 2005 report published by the National Chamber Foundation of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimated that it would cost $222 billion in 2005 from all levels of government-$125 billion in capital investment and $97 billion in operations and maintenance-to maintain the current condition of the nation's pavements, bridges and transit infrastructure, and $295 billion per year by 2015.42 Government would need to invest $271 billion in 2005 and $356 billion per year by 2015 improve highway and transit systems. According to the report, current revenue projections fall well short of these targets. In 2005, revenues from all sources were estimated to be $180 billion, $42 billion short of the amount needed to maintain the national transportation network and $91 billion short of the amount needed for improvements. The report estimated that the cumulative deficit in the amount of money needed to improve the transportation system would exceed $1 trillion by 2015.43
An additional concern is that revenues added to the Highway Trust Fund may not meet current expenditure levels by 2009 and the Mass Transit Account will be in deficit by 2013. These projections were included in the national budget for FY 2007.