America’s Half-Funded Highway System
About this episode
Rebecca Higgins discusses the challenges and choices surrounding America's highway funding system.
The Highway Trust Fund brings in roughly $45 billion a year and spends closer to $80 billion. Congress keeps the system running by borrowing the difference and moving that money into a program still treated as if road users fully fund it. Rebecca Higgins, vice president of policy at the Eno Center for Transportation, explains how the fund reached this point and why the gap keeps growing. She and Chuck examine the choices lawmakers have avoided for decades, including higher taxes, lower spending, new fees, or a smaller federal role, and what happens when highway funding begins competing with other underfunded national priorities. Additional Show Notes Rebecca Higgins (LinkedIn) The Eno Center for Transportation (Site) The Last Exit: Fixing the Highway Trust Fund while Solvency is still Solvable (Report) 'We Built the Best Interstate System. Now It’s Falling Apart.' (Video) Mission Accomplished Report (Site) Chuck Marohn (Substack) This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Thank you! Join fellow members discussing this episode in The Commons.
People in this episode
Host: Chuck Marohn
Guest: Rebecca Higgins
Topics covered
- highway funding
- transportation policy
- government spending
- infrastructure
- taxation
- federal role
Keywords
- Highway Trust Fund
- transportation
- funding gap
- Congress
- infrastructure
- taxes
- spending
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Eno Center for Transportation
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