The Pew Charitable Trusts - State and Consumer Initiatives about

Measuring Transportation Results

States spent an estimated $131 billion on transportation in fiscal year 2010, but many cannot answer critical questions about what returns this investment is generating.

Measuring Transportation Investments

States spent an estimated $131 billion on transportation in fiscal year 2010, but many cannot answer critical questions about what returns this investment is generating.

Many States Fail to Measure Performance of Transportation Dollars

States spent an estimated $131 billion on transportation in fiscal year 2010 but many cannot answer critical questions about what returns this investment is generating.

The Not-So-Fast Track for High-Speed Rail

The last time intercity passenger trains served Madison, Wisconsin's capital city, students at the University of Wisconsin campus there were protesting the Vietnam War. The trains stopped running when Amtrak took over passenger service around the country in 1971. But last month, the federal government announced it would give the state $810 million in stimulus money to return passenger trains to Wisconsin's second-biggest city for the first time in more than four decades.The $8 billion in federal stimulus money billed as "high-speed rail" funding that will pay for the Wisconsin improvements is going to 31 states to improve service on trains of all speeds. But as even the straightforward case of Wisconsin shows, the path for states to actually build high-speed rail promises to be long, costly and, in some cases, politically contentious.

High-Speed Rail Funds En Route

TODAY'S TAKE: A day after delivering his first State of the Union address, President Obama heads to Florida to showcase $8 billion in federal funds for high-speed rail projects in the Sunshine State and 30 others.

Tracking the Recession: USDA Hands Out Stimulus money for Flood projects

Eleven states receive funds that federal officials say will rebuild dams and strengthen rural economies.

States Brace for New Safety Net Money

The $789 billion economic stimulus bill includes aid for the poor that most experts agree will quickly flow back into the ailing economy, as cash-strapped families spend it on basic necessities. But already swamped state agencies face the daunting challenge of quickly getting the new money to those who need it most.

States Worry About Dwindling Road Funds

(Updated 12:30 p.m. EDT, July 24, 2008)Drivers are buying less gasoline, draining the federal Highway Trust Fund and jeopardizing thousands of major road and transit projects around the country.

Govs Turn to Fixing Infrastructure

PHILADELPHIA - Improving the nation's crumbling bridges, roads and sewage systems is a $1.6 trillion problem that governors intend to explore in the next year.

In Minnesota, soldiers re-learn civilian life

MOORHEAD, Minn. - The 2,600 members of the Minnesota National Guard who recently returned from a 22-month deployment - including a record 16 months in Iraq - are getting their first glimpse at a state program intended to help them overcome the challenges of life at home.

Bridge collapse points to national problem

The Minnesota bridge that collapsed this week is just one of 73,518 "structurally deficient" bridges across the country that state and federal inspectors have deemed in need of significant repairs.