Now more than ever, we need to keep our highways and bridges secure, intact and in good working order.

When air traffic was halted for days after 9/11, roads and highways came through for Americans.

And for Thanksgiving 2001, the American Automobile Association forecast auto travelers to represent 87 percent of holiday travelers, the highest percentage ever recorded by AAA, compared to 83 percent by car in 2000. A 27 percent drop in air, train or bus passengers was predicted.

During the Great Depression, roadbuilding did not suffer badly because of the great federal public works programs enacted in that era. And later, as the economy recovered, state coffers began to fill again and maintenance work improved.

But World War II was a period of famine for roadbuilders. As total war unfolded overseas, needed employees fought in distant lands, and petroleum products and cement were diverted to the war effort. Road equipment manufacturers turned their plants over to making weapons or construction equipment bound for overseas duty, and citizens forewent unnecessary travel in light of urgent military needs and rationed gasoline.

American civilization basked in the glow of victory, and roadwork resumed in fits and starts to catch up with the explosion in auto use that the new prosperity was bringing.

But then Americans were shaken as the Korean War erupted and the threat of a new mortal enemy -- world communism -- loomed at their doorstep. Roadwork was curtailed again, and under the demands of skyrocketing traffic and wartime needs, highway infrastructure deteriorated to the point that economic damage was done.

After Korea, Ike made sure that the creation of our National System of Interstate and Defense Highways became a reality (1956), and the system since has been renamed in his honor.
 

Transportation infrastructure vulnerable

But in this new war, which is being fought on U.S. soil, the national transportation infrastrucure has become a target in itself.

At a National Transportation Security Summit Oct. 31, U.S. Transportation Secretary Norm Mineta said "America is a fundamentally different place from the one that awoke on Sept. 11. We must re-think the basic approach with which we provide for the safety and security of everyone traveling on America's transportation systems."

In addition to a long-overdue crackdown on aviation security screening failures, Mineta outlined

o Creation of a National Infrastructure Security Committee to identify critical transportation assets and protection strategies for all modes

o Introduction of legislation to create a Transportation Security Administration within the U.S. DOT to spearhead security for all modes of transportation; and

o Increased security requirements to address the problem of undeclared or hidden shipments of hazardous materials.

And within the week, the first warnings were issued by Gov. Gray Davis on potential terrorist threats to major California bridges in San Francisco, L.A. and San Diego. Traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge was down 7 percent the first day.
 

Fighting for highways

Now the highway industry must make sure the benefits of road construction are heard in the national debate about how to allocate resources as the economy struggles and the war unfolds.

In fall 2001 the industry fought to make sure highway spending would become a part of the post-9/11 economic stimulus package being crafted in Congress in mid-October. States demonstrated they were ready, with over $14 billion in 2,200 projects ready to go on short notice, reported the American Association of State Highway & Transportation Officials (AASHTO).

The survey found that state DOTs, working with their partners in local government and the private sector, can provide an immediate stimulus to the economy by creating thousands of jobs while addressing high-priority infrastructure needs.

Every $1 billion of increased investment in highway infrastructure generates 42,000 jobs, according to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Estimates are that 75,000 jobs would be created within 12 months of enactment, and an additional 100,000 during the year to follow. The remaining jobs would occur within the next three years.

Lobbying groups like the American Road & Transportation Builders Association, American Highway Users Alliance, Associated General Contractors, Construction Industry Manufacturers Association and U.S. Chamber of Commerce lobbied in the trenches.

And educational groups like The Road Information Program (TRIP) provided information to newspapers across the country that demonstrated, for example, that a $5 billion boost in highway spending nationally would provide more than $166 million for needed highway projects. In turn, that money would create 7,000 jobs over the next two years. And many of those jobs could be started in the next few months.
 

Let's rally for roads

It will be a long time before air traffic rises to pre-9/11 levels. With gas prices continued low, as Americans gain confidence and get used to life in wartime, they are going to drive more and more to get where they're going.

Moreover, the elements are in place and the foundation is secure for an economic recovery in 2002, perhaps sooner than later.

All of this means even more demands and more loads on our highway infrastructure. To meet those demands, in these troubled times, let's "rally for roads" ... for the economy's sake ... for our nation's security ... and for our domestic tranquility.
 

This material originally appeared in Wirtgen Technology Magazine of Wirtgen America Inc.