Updates: March 18, 2008

At the invitation of Brad Hicks, President & CEO of the The Chamber of Medford/Jackson County I, along with Jim Wright and Stuart Foster, attended what is likely to be an annual event.  It was the first Transportation Convention held at the nation’s capital, sponsored by The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the city of Irvine, Texas.

In the words of Herbert A. Gears, Mayor of Irvine, “As an extension of the annual Transportation Summit (in Irving) held in August, we hope that this opportunity to convene an international conference of transportation leaders in the spring will focus even greater attention upon the integral role which transportation plays in this country, as well as around the world.” 

There is no question that transportation infrastructure is at a critical juncture in our history.  The breaking news headline today on FOX News reports that a major northeast freeway is shut down after a large crack is discovered in a support pillar.  A three mile stretch of I-95 in Philadelphia is closed. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,338771,00.html

My clients have been aware for years now that the transportation infrastructure in Oregon needs to be addressed through more revenue to not only build more capacity, but to also preserve and maintain the existing system.  Through our participation at this transportation convention, I see the scope of the challenge on a broader national level.

The conference itself was a jam-packed three days of meeting with stakeholders, Representatives and Senators from all over the United States. We also had presentations on multimodal solutions from Taiwan, France and Germany.

Stakeholder spokespersons included Riki Hokama, Chair of the Transportation Committee of the National Association of Counties and Stephen Sanherr, CEO of Associated General Contractors of America.  I’ll not list the other 18 speakers from groups just as impressive and important as the two aforementioned leaders.  Their messages were all the same, “We have a transportation infrastructure in America that is broken, underfunded and needs to be fixed.”

An impressive lineup of members of Congress awaited us on the second day. From Congressman James Oberstar, Chair of the powerful Transportation and Infrastructure Committee we heard a virtual history of transportation issues from 1776!  His impressive presentation reminded us of the constitutional requirement of Congress to “post roads” in America.  Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, Chair of the Sub-committee on Economic Development spoke to us of the need recognized by Congress to extend and fully fund the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU).  A host of other sub-committee chairs, ranking members and members of various members of transportation related committees voiced the same sentiments.

We then had the opportunity to visit with members of the Oregon delegation. We had appointments with Representatives Blumenauer, DeFazio and Walden and Senators Smith and Wyden.  Our message to all of them was of the concerns the business community has regarding transportation infrastructure in Oregon.

Finally, on the last day our group heard presentations by U.S. Department of Transportation Administration officials.  From the Federal Highway Administration, Airports and the Federal Aviation Administration, the Federal Transit Administration, the U.S. Maritime Administration and the Federal Railroad Administration we heard how their offices are handling the day to day administration of the multi-modal system of moving goods and people around the country.

While the visit to our nation’s capital was intense, to say the least, we returned with a great deal of information of the challenges America faces in the very near future with regards to transportation.  The solutions are being discussed, debated and debated again.  Not unlike what we see going on at the state level in Oregon, the problem is understood, but the way to pay for that solution is not clear at this time.

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