Trump’s proposed infrastructure plan … so far

Trump proposed to pursue what he dubbed an “America’s Infrastructure First” policy that would support domestic-focused investments in transportation, clean water, a modern and reliable electricity grid, telecommunications, and security infrastructure, plus other “pressing” infrastructure needs. For example, the new administration noted that 60,000 bridges are considered “structurally deficient” and that traffic delays cost the U.S. economy more than $50 billion annually. (Photo by Sean Kilcarr for Fleet Owner)

Trump wanted to mirror the “proud tradition” President Dwight D. Eisenhower in the way Eisenhower “championed” the created of the interstate highway system but on a broader scale by developing a new “cost-effective system” of roads, bridges, tunnels, airports, railroads, ports and waterways, as well as pipelines. (Photo by Sean Kilcarr for Fleet Owner)

Trump expects his infrastructure plan will create “thousands of new jobs” in construction, steel manufacturing, and other industries to build transportation, water, telecommunications and energy infrastructure. That, in turn, would enable “new economic development” in the U.S. and generate new tax revenues, too. This would also save jobs as the incoming administration pointed to research by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) that found without major improvements to U.S. transportation systems alone the nation could lose more than 2.5 million jobs by 2025. (Photo by Sean Kilcarr for Fleet Owner)

Trump’s initial infrastructure plan also wanted to more deeply involve the private sector by “harnessing market forces” to help attract new private infrastructure investments by what he called “a deficit-neutral system” of infrastructure tax credits, as well as through public-private partnerships and other “prudent” funding opportunities. For example, an NAM study posited that $8 billion in infrastructure tax credits would support $226 billion in infrastructure investment over 10 years. (Photo by Sean Kilcarr for Fleet Owner)

To improve the speed at which infrastructure projects are completed, Trump has proposed linking spending increases to reforms that streamline permitting and approvals, employ incentive-based contracting to ensure projects are on time and on budget, and to provide state governments with “maximum flexibility” in how to manage such projects. “We want to complete projects faster and at lower cost through significant regulatory reform and ending needless red-tape,” Trump said. (Photo by Sean Kilcarr for Fleet Owner)

The incoming administration also desires to incorporate “new technologies and innovations” into the U.S. transportation system which includes, in its words, “the next generation of vehicles,” which may signal more support for self-driving cars and trucks, such as the Peterbilt Motors Co. self-driving truck prototype seen here. (Photo by Sean Kilcarr for Fleet Owner)