At a time when cutbacks threaten surface transportation programs across the U.S., a new economic analysis from the American Society of Civil Engineers says that simply maintaining current levels of investment won't be enough to avert long-term losses in productivity, jobs and household income.

Drawing on widely used transportation planning models and consumer and industry data, “Failure to Act: The Economic Impact of Current Investment Trends in Surface Transportation,” forecasts that, within the next decade, the added costs of dealing with deteriorating highways, bridges and transit systems will result in the loss of more than 870,000 jobs and cut the nation's gross domestic product by $3.1 trillion. During the same period, the average household income will fall by $7,000; exports will drop by $28 billion.