(Washington, DC) – Congressman Charles W. Boustany, Jr., MD (R-South Louisiana), supported a two-month Highway Trust Fund (HTF) extension that will authorize funding for construction and maintenance of federal highway infrastructure through July 31, 2015. The Fund’s authorization was set to expire at the end of May.

A study published this week by TRIP, a national transportation research group, shows that rural highway infrastructure in Louisiana is particularly deficient. According to a report on the study by KLFY: “Sixteen percent of Louisiana’s rural bridges were rated as structurally deficient in 2014, the 8^th highest rate in the nation. In 2013, 16 percent of Louisiana’s major rural roads were rated in poor condition, the 22^nd highest rate nationally.”

Boustany said: “I am disappointed Congress has not acted with the necessary urgency reflected in our crumbling roads and bridges to find a permanent solution to this continuing problem. We can do better. Today, I supported this extension because the short term need is too great not to act. In the long term, I am working with my colleagues on the Ways & Means Committee to organize a concerted effort to examine solutions and build consensus on a common-sense approach that works.”

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