Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell has been one of the loudest voices championing the importance of infrastructure investment in recent years. In this interview, he talks about where things are heading and what work remains.
Journalist Matt Dellinger talks with Rendell about the future of transportation and infrastructure now that he's leaving office.
"Dellinger: It does seems like the funding part of things is what's holding up the re-authorization bill. Earlier we interviewed former Secretary Mary Peters, who of course under Bush was championing things like tolling interstates and privatization-
Rendell: I'm for both of those. I think we need to put every arrow in our quiver, and tolling interstates is a must. The federal government's got to remove the ban on tolling interstates and give the states the capacity to do that. I'll give you a perfect example. We're spending 90 million dollars a year to repair I-80. We had planned to toll it and up our spending to $200 million a year, which it really needs. It's a free passageway from the Atlantic Coast to the Midwest and we're just not going to be able to keep up. So tolling interstates is one way, is one arrow in the quiver.
Privatization and getting private dollars, through an infrastructure bank, invested into infrastructure, is another way."
Read the full story: Governor Rendell on Transportation’s Future, and His Own
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Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
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