Feb 23, 2009 11:12 AM

Congested highways and crumbling overpasses headline a laundry list of problems described by the American Society of Civil Engineers in its recently issued "infrastructure report card."

The report states that one-third of America’s major roads are in poor or mediocre condition and 45 percent of major urban highways are congested.

Congestion threatens the nation’s productivity, costing the U.S. economy $78 billion annually in the form of 4.2 billion "lost hours" and 2.9 billion gallons of wasted fuel, says the Texas Traffic Institute.

In addition to improving economic productivity, relieving highway congestion is a critically important strategy for reducing carbon emissions.

The positive economic and environmental effects of infrastructure investments are the latest topics for discussion by the American Trucking Associations. Access this information at www.bizcentral.org/american-trucking-association.

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