Capital Infrastructure Investment Needs and Financing Options

摘要

This study is a first step in obtaining more information about current capital stock conditions for city infrastructures, current performance failure rates, and the consequences of maintenance or investment deferral. The study examines the overall State - local capital investment record and the financing sources for that investment as well as the evolution of Federal assistance programs in the basic infrastructure areas of roads and highways, bridges, sewer and water treatment systems, water distribution, and mass transit systems. Current administration and congressional proposals for shifting the Federal role in infrastructure finance are considered, as are some new approaches for supporting public capital investment, drawing primarily on the recent experience of States and localities with alternative capital financing programs. As a first step in assembling consistent records of capital stock condition and maintenance trends, a small sample of cities (28) is compared regarding the condition and maintenance of streets, bridges, water, sewer, and transit systems. The remaining portions of the study examine in greater detail the principal functional areas that are cities' infrastructure responsibilities: highways and bridges, sewer systems, water distribution systems, and mass transit systems. These analyses are intended to provide specialized information that can be used by planners and others in assessing capital conditions in their own cities or in examining the links between local capital spending and maintenance and Federal capital assistance programs. Tables, figures, and footnotes are provided.