regarding michael j. boskin<u+2019>s <u+201c> all aboard the infrastructure boondoggle <u+201d> (op-ed, nov. 1): the vast majority of transportation infrastructure investments are managed with considerable care by a highly responsible, vast network of state transportation departments plus metropolitan planning agencies. their decisions are routinely made in a collaborative and transparent fashion with extensive stakeholder participation. these earnestly committed organizations would loudly argue against mr. boskin<u+2019>s judgment that they are incentivized to <u+201c>fund projects with poor national returns<u+201d> and motivated by <u+201c>false premises.<u+201d> we don<u+2019>t need a new federal authority telling states and local authorities how to manage our infrastructure funds. what we do need is an acute transfusion of new investment to rebuild and sustain the critical role that transportation infrastructure provides for the u.s. economy. remarkably, donald trump and hillary clinton agree. prof. james alleman iowa state university ames, iowa. michael boskin is right to suggest the federal infrastructure process can yield projects like the <u+201c>bridge to nowhere<u+201d> and the california bullet train. but this process also created the 48,000-mile interstate highway system. no serious observer who<u+2019>s driven america<u+2019>s interstates, crossed our bridges or passed through our major airports would suggest a go-slow approach for infrastructure investment. john a. cline washington infrastructure is the backbone of the american economy, but much of it is aging, overextended and overlooked. in 2013 we at the american society of civil engineers (asce) graded our nation<u+2019>s infrastructure a <u+201c>d+.<u+201d> and our recent economic study found that if we do not address our infrastructure needs in the next decade, 2.5 million jobs will be lost, along with $3.9 trillion in gdp. infrastructure investment should be carefully prioritized, considering the cost and benefits of a project over its entire lifespan. norma jean mattei, ph.d., p.e. president, asce new orleans
getting infrastructure without boondoggles - wsj
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