Restore T.R.U.S.T.

Americans for Transportation Mobility Coalition

The FasterBetterSafer Campaign is a nationwide effort by business, labor, transportation organizations and concerned citizens to advocate for increased federal investment in the nation’s aging and overburdened transportation system. The FasterBetterSafer Campaign will demonstrate to leaders in Washington the groundswell of public support for making transportation a national priority.  This week they highlighted the benefits of stimulus-driven IDL rehabilitation

Increased Transportation Funding Helps Oklahoma and the Nation

 The Inner-Dispersal Loop (IDL)

• Rehabilitation of the IDL will create a total of nearly 600 direct and indirect jobs as a result of one year of construction.
• The project is expected to produce an economic impact of nearly $137 million for the local economy over the course of construction.
• The four-mile IDL, which encircles downtown Tulsa and averages more than 62,000 vehicles each day. 
• The $75 million, 580 day project will completely reconstruct and re-deck more than 40 bridges on the west and north legs of the IDL.
• Traffic sign improvements and safety upgrades will also be made.

Missed Opportunities

• The Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) has identified $1 billion worth of already-scheduled transportation projects that need little preparation work before being ready for construction.
• Currently ODOT reports close to $12 billion in backlogged transportation projects.
• Transportation infrastructure replacement costs in Oklahoma are $35 billion, almost seven times the annual state budget.

Economic Impact

• Congestion costs Oklahomans $171 million annually in lost time and wasted fuel. Bumper-to-bumper traffic also means Oklahoma City drivers waste 6 million gallons of gasoline a year and spend 20 extra hours annually on the road.
•  According to the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO), there are more than 5,000 projects around the nation, totaling $64 billion and supporting 1.8 million jobs that can be ramped up within 180 days of receiving adequate funding. 
• Every $1 spent on transportation infrastructure projects generates an additional $1.80 of American Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Safety and Efficiency

• Of the over 6,700 bridges on the Oklahoma state highway system, almost 1,600 are either too narrow to support today's traffic or have structural deficiencies, or both.
• By 2014, the number of Oklahoma's aging bridges will have increased to 1,143, but only 324 will have been replaced. This will only exacerbate the existing problem.
• ODOT's eight-year Construction Work Plan (FFY-2009 through FFY-2016) contains nearly $4 billion in spending, including 449 bridges, 95 miles of cable median barrier and 460 miles of safety-oriented improvements on inadequate two-lane roads.