Title: Highway Trust Fund Basics: A Primer on Federal Surface Transportation Spending | The Heritage Foundation
Headings: Highway Trust Fund Basics: A Primer on Federal Surface Transportation Spending
Highway Trust Fund Basics: A Primer on Federal Surface Transportation Spending
Highway Trust Fund Overview
Condition of the Nation’s Roads and Bridges
State Action on Transportation Funding
Proposed Approaches to Address the Highway Trust Fund Budget
Conclusion
Authors

Content: The percentage of bridges that are structurally deficient—meaning that they require extensive maintenance, but are not necessarily unsafe [19] —has declined from 22 percent in 1992 to 10 percent in 2014. [ 20] Highways and roads have also improved: The Federal Highway Administration notes that the percentage of vehicle miles traveled on the National Highway System with “good” ride quality rose from 48 percent in 2000 to 60 percent in 2010, while the share with “acceptable” ride quality increased from 91 percent to 93 percent. [ 21]
Indeed, a Reason Foundation study of infrastructure performance from 1989 to 2008 concluded that, while individual elements of the system “are continuously deteriorating over time, the overall condition of the state-owned highway system appears to be improving, and has possibly never been in better shape. In short, the U.S. highway infrastructure is not ‘crumbling.’” [ 22]
State Action on Transportation Funding
In the midst of uncertainty in Washington, states have ramped up their own strategies to invest in their infrastructure. Over the past year, 23 states have acted to generate revenue devoted to in