Buttigieg to inherit a crumbling network of roads, subways and rails at DOT

Pete Buttigieg as the incoming pick for U.S. transportation secretary would take office at a time when both state and local officials are deeply frustrated that not enough is being done to maintain and improve the country’s transportation networks.

But nobody seems to be able to solve the problem.

For example, two presidents have vowed to replace the aging Brent Spence Bridge between Cincinnati and northern Kentucky, but there’s still no plan to do so. In fact, the bridge closed down for a month because of damage it sustained in a November truck accident. Officials just reopened it a few days before Christmas.

Amtrak officials warn that passenger rail service that connects far-flung cities along the East Coast, from Boston and through Maryland to Washington, D.C., could stop anytime, if one of two 110-year-old tunnels underneath the Hudson River fails. The tubes were damaged when they flooded after Hurricane Sandy.

Nearly every state has its pain point: In Louisiana, Baton Rouge residents have been calling for a new bridge over the Mississippi River for years to cope with increased congestion. Missouri leaders have struggled for years to find money for road improvements, particularly for the heavily trafficked Interstate 70 corridor.

Read more: https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2020/12/28/buttigieg-to-inherit-a-crumbling-network-of-roads-subways-and-rails-at-dot/