Editorial: Shortsighted View, Long-Term Disaster

It is fitting to consider how deterioration of the Mississippi River and Tributaries system—indeed, America’s transportation system in general—is directly related to the view of Congress and the Bush administration as to its importance. When it comes to financing transportation, a shortsighted view results in long-term disaster.

We’re not referring to a sudden, train-wreck or head-on-collision-type disaster; we mean simply that the system will never live up to its potential nor be able to meet needs as efficiently as it should. Congestion will continue to grow, a costly waste of natural resources will continue, and unnecessary pollution of the environment will continue to take place. In the longer term, our overseas competitors will make further intrusions into our markets.

Some of these results we can honestly conclude from a statement presented by Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.) during a February 20 joint hearing of Minnesota State Transportation Budget and Policy Division and the Minnesota House Transportation Finance and Policy Committee. Oberstar is chairman of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Rep. Oberstar’s statement dealt with both state and national aspects of transportation, and his conclusions could easily represent those presented by any member of the House committee if he were to meet with transportation officials of his respective state.

Minnesota has long been concerned with its transportation corridor and it was about a decade ago that it released a study dealing with a hypothetical cargo shift from the river to trucks and rail. The thrust of that study emphasized the importance of water transport from the standpoints of economy, safety and the environment.

Oberstar said at the February 20 hearing that national freight traffic is expected to double in the next decade.

As an aside, we have to point out that our fixation with endangered species has resulted in major alterations to the way the United States does business. While earmarking hundreds of millions of dollars for environmental restoration is a positive action, letting our concern for endangered species blind us to the growing needs of the human race is not. An example of this nationwide foolishness is the “pandoric” mess we call the Missouri River.

The presence or lack of species in the Missouri (any river for that matter) is directly related to man’s infringement upon nature. Man has brought invasive species to the Great Lakes (zebra mussels) and to our rivers (zebra mussels and asian carp). Man has placed otters on streams where they kill the fish. We must weigh the purpose of our actions against the value of specific endangered species at issue.

There really is a need for towing on the Big Muddy. The presence of towing services as far up as Sioux City, Iowa, has always worked to reduce rail rates and better serve the economy of the area.

As we look to our entire transportation system, we should be bothered by the fact that the annual cost of freight delays is $9 billion annually. That amount is sufficient to pay for modernizing the Upper Mississippi and Illinois rivers several times over. Transportation congestion costs the nation $68 billion annually.

We want congressional overseers to adopt a farsighted view that puts the nation’s transportation needs ahead of less critical environmental needs dealing with some species and, of course, regional and partisan politics.

It is not just river transportation that we are focusing upon. Great Lakes water levels are a foot low and lakers are forced to light-load by 9 percent in order to enter harbors. Dredging needs are urgent. In fact, major dredging is urgently needed at many U.S. seaports. Highways are underfunded to the tune of $44 billion. Amtrak needs to be reauthorized. Air transportation suffers as well. After September 11, 2001, some $3.5 billion of federal airline funds were diverted away from runway expansion to security resources, with no promised compensation.

In the final analysis, Congress must examine the nation’s needs under a microscope but not analyze them to death. We have been studying invasive species in the Great Lakes for 15 years. There have been no solutions. The inaction has cost money.

Let’s look at some Minnesota specifics. The state’s gas tax has not changed in 20 years, while its portion of the gross national product has grown three times, vehicular traffic has doubled and vehicle miles have substantially increased. The region needs high-speed rail service. The rural death toll has grown to an unacceptable level, and urban traffic congestion worsens every year because $1 billion in transportation projects go unfunded.

In short, all modes of transportation are in trouble—almost everywhere! We need a federal plan for curing those ills—a plan designed to meet the continued growth of national transportation needs. The plan should be sacrosanct, untouchable, looked upon as the critical instrument that keeps the lifeblood of the nation flowing.

Congress can do that if it only will.

The Waterways Journal encourages letters to the editor.
Have something on your mind?
Send letters to: jshoulberg@waterwaysjournal.net.
(Please indicate whether or not your letter is intended for publication.)