The nation's network of highways plays a vital role in the
U.S. economy; private commercial activity and people's
daily lives depend on that transportation infrastructure.
In 2007, the public sector spent $146 billion to build,
operate, and maintain highways in the United States.
About three-quarters of that total was provided by state
and local governments. One-quarter was provided by
the federal government, primarily through the Safe,
Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity
Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). The initial
authorization for that law has expired; as the Congress
considers the future role of the federal government in
providing highway infrastructure, it faces three important
questions: how to structure decisionmaking about highway
projects, how much money to spend on highways,
and how to pay for that spending.
