Chesley Bonestell, “The Exploration of Mars” (1953), oil on board, 143/8 x 28 inches, gift of William Estler, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Reproduced courtesy of Bonestell LLC.

New Thinking for Highways

July 31, 2015

With expiration looming for the Highway Trust Fund, some federal legislators are looking for a short-term extension to be followed by a six-year deal that would enable lawmakers to investigate direct user fees for funding infrastructure projects. In Issues, a transportation policy analyst has already proposed a shopping list of user fees that would be more efficient and more equitable than the fuel taxes now at the heart of highway funding.