The following article is part two of a three-part feature series based on the recent report — Planes, Trains and Automobiles: Renewal of U.S. Transportation Infrastructure. The full report with footnotes and references is available at https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3792493

In part one of this feature series, we reviewed key dimensions of the U.S. transportation network. We turn now to the question of how infrastructure is financed (debt and equity) and how it is funded (direct and indirect revenues, which pay for that financing).

How to finance our infrastructure needs is the Gordian Knot of the infrastructure world. It is no secret that the United States has fallen behind in renovating and developing transportation infrastructure to the tune of trillions of dollars. Closing the gap between what we are now allocating to infrastructure and what we should be allocating can appear overwhelming, but there are multiple financing stru