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[quote user="Phoebe Vet"] The only reason that the highway trust fund has been in surplus is because they have done very minimal maint since the '60s when President Johnson instituted that "unified budget" scam to hide the cost of the war.  Perhaps you didn't notice how many of our bridges are in dangerously substandard condition. [/quote] The unified budget has nothing to do with the Highway Trust Fund (HTF).  It includes monies to maintain the Interstate system as well as expand them.  What is meant by minimal maintenance?  Most of the Interstate highways that I have driven are in pretty good shape.  Moreover, significant portions of I-35, I-45, and I-10 in Texas, at least, are being rebuilt.  The monies to do so, for the most part, are from the HTF. The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that up to one third of the country's bridges need to be upgraded or repaired over the next decade.  They based their estimate on a statistical sample, which is subject to a range of probabilities as opposed to an exact outcome.  Moreover, given that civil engineers have a vested outcome in the results, i.e. a bleaker picture means more work for civil engineers; I am a little suspect of their estimate.  Nevertheless, I agree that the U.S. needs to upgrade a significant portion of its transport infrastructure (highway, rail, airports, etc.) over the coming decades. To say that many of the country's bridges are dangerously substandard is not supported by the evidence.  Following the collapse of the I-35 Bridge in Minneapolis, an unusual condition, TXDOT examined every bridge in Texas.  It identified a significant number of bridges that require enhanced maintenance over the next few years, but it did not find any bridges that had to be closed because they were dangerous.
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