Standing before the “Getting Schooled in Infrastructure” bus in Louisville, Ky., Friday, U.S. Congressman John Yarmuth declared: “Congress is fiddling while our nation collapses.” It was week five of the bus being on the road, traveling nearly 5,000 miles through more than 50 Congressional districts. It’s message: tell Congress to get serious about our nation’s roads, bridges and jobs and pass a long-term, full-investment Highway Bill. Earlier in the week, the bus was joined by the mayor of Nashville who urged Congress to fulfill its responsibilities and in Atlanta by the state Senate Minority Leader who also urged Congress to adopt any of the several viable, responsible proposals available to them to make our roads and bridges safe and protect jobs.

While Congress appears on course to pass a temporary patch to maintain resources for roads and bridges for 10 months – rather than fixing the crisis – a bi-partisan core in Congress, as well as LIUNA and other transportation advocates, have vowed to continue to work for a real Highway Bill that will provide the resources and stability the nation needs.

The “getting schooled” bus continues through Virginia next week, on to Times Square in New York City and then to Washington, D.C.

Send a message to Congress now at www.FixOurBridges.org and let them know America deserves safe roads and bridges.

Key facts:

• One in four bridges in the U.S. is structurally deficient or functionably obsolete.
• Poor road conditions, such as potholes are now a contributing factor in a third of traffic fatalities. That’s about 10,000 lost lives every year.