'As users of America's highways, ATA was heartened to hear President Obama once again highlight the need to do something ' anything ' about our crumbling infrastructure,' Graves said. 'However, it was with little surprise that the president once again failed to commit to putting real, concrete sources of funding behind that rhetoric.
'Right now, the country doesn't need more empty promises and rhetoric about the importance of repairing roads and bridges as a way to put Americans back to work. What the country needs is money ' money from real sources, not promises of private investment or redirected savings,' Graves said. 'While promises of speeding the construction process will help in the short term, in the long term, it still boils down to funding.
'In our recovery from the Great Recession, trucking just wrapped up its most successful year in a decade and we expect with continued improvement in manufacturing and growth in international trade that we will be called on to haul more goods and drive more miles than ever,' Graves said. 'In order to do this efficiently and safely, we need the administration and Congress to come together on a well-funded multiyear highway bill that makes smart investments in roads and bridges with real dollars. As the president said, 'There's never been a better time to build.''
