Political Quotes

“this bill I am introducing today is a bridge discretionary bill. We cannot forget in our reauthorization of the Nation's transportation policy the importance of maintaining our bridges. Missouri has approximately 23,000 bridges in total. Unfortunately, the State of Missouri, according to Department of Transportation statistics ranks sixth from the bottom on conditions of bridges in this country. This is a deplorable place for the State of Missouri to be. We must start taking better care of our roads and bridges and begin building roads for the 21st century--with new technologies, new materials, and better designs. According to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials America must address the deficiencies of over 11,000 bridges per year just to maintain current levels of condition. According to the Department of Transportation, the cost to improve bridge conditions would require an annual investment of $8.9 billion. Let us not lose the hard-won gains in our transportation infrastructure. Let's not squander our investment. Postponing taking care of our bridge needs only means that our investment declines and to make repairs later will cost more. The cliche does say ``Pay now or pay More later.'' Taking care of our transportation infrastructure can be compared to taking care of your home. If you fail to fix the leaky roof, fail to re-paint, fail to adequately insulate, your costs increase and the value of your home declines.”