Transportation Expert On Economic Stimulus Plan

Transportation engineering expert Michael A. Replogle, Environmental Defense Fund Transportation Director, and adviser to the US Department of Transportation has this to say on the economic stimulus plan that Congress and President-elect Barack Obama are preparing to launch next month:

Bringing roads and bridges to a state of good repair, not building new roads should be a priority.  Research shows that transit spending creates more jobs than the same spending on new roadway construction.  National studies show that every $1 billion communities invest in transit yields $6 billion in economic returns, creating 35,000 jobs.

Many ports are trying to invest in cleaner trucks and machinery. Stimulus money should also support diesel clean-up programs, replacing old trucks with new ones, installing and manufacturing filters, and helping truckers get the most advanced technologies.

Excerpted from Boston.com.