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For years, trucking has been pleading for government officials to take seriously the need for a well-funded, long-term surface transportation plan, not because it is convenient for the industry but because it is a demonstrated necessity for the nation’s long-term economic health.

Transportation leaders and infrastructure advocates will again call on Congress to implement long-term financing structures, such as raising the federal fuel tax, to rehabilitate roads and bridges around the country.

Lawmakers are scheduled to return to Capitol Hill on April 28 for just 43 days before their extended summer recess, giving them a short window to approve a long-term, comprehensive transportation funding bill.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Panel on Public-Private Partnerships has set an April 30 roundtable hearing to examine how states have applied “P3” set ups to fund infrastructure projects.

Former transportation secretaries Mary Peters and Norman Mineta will headline the release of the Eno Center for Transportation’s study examining the role of public-private partnerships to pay for infrastructure projects.

Moody’s Investors Service told clients that transportation infrastructure needs are one of the driving forces of United States public finance in a March 10 Credit Outlook note.

The United States needs to spend $65 billion to $86 billion annually over the next 20 years to maintain its current highway infrastructure, the Department of Transportation said.

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators led by Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) introduced legislation to create a $10 billion infrastructure bank that would use loans and loan guarantees to encourage private investment in transportation projects.