Transportation's Future a Rocky Road

Nossaman Partner Geoffrey Yarema was quoted in the Politico article "Transportation's Future a Rocky Road," about the federal highway and transit program's need for major systemic reforms and a large increase in funding.

Mr. Yarema, co-chair of the Firm's Infrastructure Practice Group and a member of the National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission, said he remains optimistic that the technical challenges can be overcome — and in short order. He noted his father worked on the Apollo and Saturn missions in the space program.

"They went to the moon in less than 10 years using pocket protectors and slide rules," Mr. Yarema said. "There's no way you can tell me that we can't achieve a VMT, technically, by 2020, which is what our commission recommended."

He continued: "The issues that I think have constrained a concept like VMT in years past, I think those issues will start to melt away and there will be a growing acceptance of the idea. I think there are larger societal changes ongoing that will facilitate it."