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REMARKS FOR
THE HONORABLE MARY PETERS
SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION
HOOVER DAM BYPASS NEWS CONFERENCE
HOOVER DAM, NV
MARCH 26, 2008
9:30 AM
Thank you all for being here. I want to thank Congressman Jon
Porter for hosting us today, and thank you, Dave Zanetell, for showing us all
the important work being done here at one of the most amazing sites in the
country – a true national treasure – the Hoover Dam.
The dam’s beautiful views and extraordinary architecture attract thousands of
tourists every day. These tourists help create jobs and drive the economy.
And not only is the Hoover Dam a top tourist destination, but U.S. Route 93 is
also the primary link between Las Vegas and Phoenix – two cities whose
populations have boomed since the dam’s completion in 1935.
Unfortunately, as these vibrant cities grow and more tourists visit the dam,
traffic congestion gets worse. As a result, Route 93 has become one of America’s
most congested highways, and traffic bottlenecks here are among the worst in the
country. Overall, 20,000 vehicles cross the dam every day, and that number is
expected to grow by 50 percent over the next 20 years.
With the increased traffic, it can take over an hour to pass through the
3.5-mile crossing of the Dam. We can and must do better.
Once this project is completed, it will help relieve congestion and save
approximately $60 million annually in time and fuel.
But projects like this should not be an anomaly. We must strive to complete more
large-scale projects, like the Hoover Dam Bypass – which I worked on back when I
was Director at the Arizona Department of Transportation – in years, not
decades.
Transportation in America today is at a crossroads, and finding a new approach
to deal with congestion and growing demands for transportation infrastructure is
important to our quality of life, our economic prosperity, and the environment.
It is a time not unlike 1956, when Dwight Eisenhower had the dream and courage
to propose and begin the construction of a national Interstate Highway System
that would revolutionize the American economy and way of life.
Ike believed that directly charging the people who used the Interstate system
was the fairest and most efficient approach. But he was limited by the
technologies of his day.
So, we built the Interstate system using indirect gas taxes, instead of tolls.
And while we succeeded in constructing the largest highway system in the world,
the seeds of our current problems were sown.
Today, Nevada is entirely dependent on taxes to finance infrastructure, but
there is no greater symptom of our failure than the fact that Americans in every
part of the U.S. are deeply skeptical that raising taxes will do anything to
improve their day-to-day commutes or the productivity of their businesses.
Poll after poll shows strong opposition to increasing fuel taxes. Seventy-six
percent of Nevadans told the Review-Journal they opposed increasing gas taxes to
pay for highway construction.
I am here to tell you that there is a better way – a way that will allow us to
do more for transportation than Eisenhower ever dreamed possible.
In addition to the existing record levels of federal funding, I am announcing
today that the private sector has $400 billion available to finance new road,
bridge and transit projects in this country. And that is on top of record levels
of federal investment in infrastructure.
Florida, Virginia, Indiana, and Texas have developed a new model that utilizes
the powerful combination of open road electronic tolling and private capital to
finance and accelerate major projects. There is no reason why Nevada could not
be next on that list.
We can unleash the greatest wave of transportation investment this country has
ever seen. Here in Nevada, we can use private investment to spur economic
development and build badly needed transportation projects that address the
needs of commuters and shippers.
What we need is the political will to say no to earmarks, yes to private
innovations, yes to faster approval times, and yes to infrastructure projects
that solve our congestion problem and help our economy.
We have the need, the technology and the resources to build dozens more projects
like the one we have just seen.
In fact, right down the road there is a great example of American growth and
prosperity. But if we treated our cities like our roads, Las Vegas would still
be a one-hotel town.
At the Department of Transportation, we want to encourage, not discourage
investment. And we want to inspire innovation, not stifle it.
This is the path to the transportation future America needs and deserves.
We have a tremendous opportunity to seize transportation solutions that come
when the private sector and communities and states are free to innovate. The
time to seize those solutions is now.
Thank you. Congressman, I believe you have some remarks.
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