The U.S. Conference of Mayors and American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) are out with statements this afternoon hailing House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Jim Oberstar’s (D-MN) new federal transportation proposal.

The mayors like Oberstar’s creation of a dedicated metropolitan-area program, while the engineers are most concerned with getting a higher level of reliable funding in place. Quoth ASCE President D. Wayne Klotz:

At a time when American’s are
spending more than 4.2 billion hours a year stuck in traffic and more than one
in four of the nation’s bridges are deficient, it is obvious that our roads,
bridges and transit systems are in desperate need of leadership and investment,"
said ASCE president D. Wayne Klotz, P.E., D.WRE, F.ASCE. "ASCE believes
that." With SAFETEA-LU set to expire on September 30, the release of House
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar’s blueprint is a more-than-welcome beginning.