Podcast | Why Aren’t We Getting Our Money’s Worth From Transportation Spending?

Billions of federal dollars committed to building and maintaining the nation’s transportation infrastructure — and what do we have to show for it?

Not a whole lot, it seems. According to a new report from Transportation for America and Taxpayers for Common Sense, despite the authorization of $1.5 trillion in spending on infrastructure, the condition of U.S. roadways “has barely improved.” From 2018 to 2024, the share of roads in poor condition declined only marginally, the report finds. And that doesn’t even address the needs of crumbling bridges, tunnels, ports and other critical pieces of the infrastructure puzzle. On this episode, we speak with Beth Osbourne, president and chief executive officer of Smart Growth America, about why lawmakers are caught in an endless loop, in which they authorize huge amounts of funding for construction, maintenance and repair, only to see the projects fail, go underfunded, or never even materialize. Then, a couple of election cycles later, it starts all over again, absent the experience, insight and institutional memory that drove previous efforts. Going forward, where should we be focusing our efforts — on new construction, or repair of existing infrastructure? Even more importantly, can we ever break this vicious cycle? Osbourne has hope. Hosted by Bob Bowman, Editor-in-Chief of SupplyChainBrain.

Show notes:

The report, Repair Priorities 2026.