By Robert Pore
robert.pore@theindependent.com

Hagel testified on Tuesday before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. Hagel and U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., have introduced legislation that would create a National Infrastructure Bank to rebuild the nation's crumbling infrastructure.

What gives Hagel's message and legislation a sense of urgency is a new report from the National Research Council that says every mode of transportation in the United States will be affected as the climate changes.

The impacts of climate change will vary by region. However, according to the report, it's certain the effects will be widespread and costly in human and economic terms and will require significant changes in the planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance of transportation systems.

During Hagel's testimony, he said the federal government does not and will not have the funds necessary to meet future national infrastructure needs.

Hagel said new solutions to America's failing infrastructure are needed.

The Dodd-Hagel legislation, he said, could provide the foundation for a 21st-century framework to capitalize the nation's infrastructure.

The Infrastructure Bank a public entity similar in nature to the Municipal Assistance Corp. could leverage private capital to supplement the current levels of public spending, he said.

"A public entity that can focus private-sector investment onto public infrastructure could help provide the necessary investment for 21st-century infrastructure in America," Hagel said.

While the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are costing the country $12 billion per month, Hagel said U.S. global competitors are investing astounding amounts of capital into their infrastructure projects.

For example, as a share of gross domestic product, Hagel said, China spends almost four times what the United States does on infrastructure, and India spends three times as much.

He said other countries, such as Spain, Germany, Japan, France and the United Kingdom, are all making significant investments to maintain and replace 50-year-old roads, sewer systems and other infrastructure projects.

"These countries have all recognized the need for private investment to supplement public financing for their infrastructure projects," Hagel said.

In the United States, the nation's failing infrastructure has earned a grade of D from the American Society of Civil Engineers.

According to ASCE, the average age of drinking water and wastewater systems ranges from 50 to 100 years old.

The Texas Transportation Institute said the average traveler is delayed 51.5 hours in the nation's 20 largest metropolitan areas. The delays range from 93 hours in Los Angeles to 14 hours in Pittsburgh. Combined, these delays waste 1.78 billion gallons of fuel each year and amount to $50.3 billion in congestion costs.

According to the National Research Council, the U.S. transportation system was designed and built for local weather and climate conditions, predicated on historical temperature and precipitation data.

But, according to the report, climate predictions used by transportation planners and engineers may no longer be reliable, in the face of new weather and climate extremes.

The report identified five climate changes of particular importance to U.S. transportation: 1) increases in very hot days and heat waves; 2) increases in Arctic temperatures; 3) rising sea levels; 4) increases in intense precipitation events; and 5) increases in hurricane intensity.

In the Midwest, the report said, increased intense precipitation could augment the severity of flooding.

"The time has come for transportation professionals to acknowledge and confront the challenges posed by climate change and to incorporate the most current scientific knowledge into the planning of transportation systems," said Henry Schwartz Jr., past president and chairman of Svedrup/Jacobs Civil Inc. and chairman of the committee that wrote the report.