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LaHood: Use more water transportation
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04/05/11 05:22 PM ET
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said that making more use of the country's waterways to move goods and people would benefit both the economy and the environment.
LaHood touted a study released Tuesday by the Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration showing that the nation’s water system could be used to reduce congestion and maintenance on highways and bridges.
LaHood also said such a strategy could help stem rising gas prices, and was a top priority of President Obama.
“When we finish America’s fully-integrated, national marine highway system, our legacy will be more than routes on water," LaHood said in a statement. "It will be a country less dependent on foreign oil. It will be a 21st century means of moving people and goods. It will be a future that America is prepared to win.”
Representatives of the inland waters industry were in Washington recently to lobby for more spending on infrastructure project such as dredging.
The Army Corps of Engineers has allocated $66 million for dredging along the Mississippi River and other bodies of water, but the work is expected to cost $100 million, Waterways Council President Cornell Martin said last month in an interview with The Hill.
LaHood touted a study released Tuesday by the Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration showing that the nation’s water system could be used to reduce congestion and maintenance on highways and bridges.
LaHood also said such a strategy could help stem rising gas prices, and was a top priority of President Obama.
“When we finish America’s fully-integrated, national marine highway system, our legacy will be more than routes on water," LaHood said in a statement. "It will be a country less dependent on foreign oil. It will be a 21st century means of moving people and goods. It will be a future that America is prepared to win.”
Representatives of the inland waters industry were in Washington recently to lobby for more spending on infrastructure project such as dredging.
The Army Corps of Engineers has allocated $66 million for dredging along the Mississippi River and other bodies of water, but the work is expected to cost $100 million, Waterways Council President Cornell Martin said last month in an interview with The Hill.
