Jul 8, 2026 · 4 min · 3 segments
NACo President J.D. Clark explains why America's county-owned roads and bridges are falling behind on funding, and what Congress can do about it in the next surface transportation bill. \…
As Congress debates a new surface transportation bill, it is time to set funding formulas that reflect needs on the ground.
Clark said, this is not a story about one county road, but rather about the heart of the American economy and who is responsible for keeping it intact.
Counties own and maintain 44% of all public road miles and more than 229,000 bridges on the National Bridge Inventory.
Many people mistakenly believe these are all two-lane roads, but that's simply not the case anymore, especially in fast-growing areas.
Even where county-owned roads are two lanes, they are critical to economic competitiveness.
They help connect farms to markets, plants to ports, and families to jobs.
Nearly every trip in America, whether moving people or freight, begins and ends on a locally owned road.
Maintaining a strong, safe, and efficient transportation system requires coordination and partnership among all levels of government.
For example, Highway 287 in Wise County is the most dangerous corridor in Wise County.
The Texas Department of Transportation's corridor study has identified 15 safety projects along the segment of 287 in Wise County, including frontage roads, overpasses, and grade separation work.
What most people don't see is that even though 287 is a state-owned, TxDOT-maintained highway, Wise County is the one fighting for it.
Large-scale projects like Highway 287 cannot move with local dollars alone, and the current way of distributing federal transportation dollars doesn't align with needs on the ground.
Congress has an opportunity to fix this in the Surface Transportation Reauthorization Bill, known as the Build America 250 Act, that was recently approved by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on a bipartisan vote.
As the full House considers the legislation, the county requests are simple.
First, increase the share of federal formula funding shared with local and regional partners to 25%.
Second, retain select discretionary grant programs counties can access as primary partners, not just subrecipients.
Third, streamline project delivery and bolster planning to ensure that when dollars are available, counties can move quickly before inflation erodes them.
These are not partisan requests.
They are engineering requests grounded in research.
To read the full article written by Judge Clark, visit countyprogress.com.
As Congress debates a new surface transportation bill, it is time to set funding formulas that reflect needs on the ground.
Clark said, this is not a story about one county road, but rather about the heart of the American economy and who is responsible for keeping it intact.
Counties own and maintain 44% of all public road miles and more than 229,000 bridges on the National Bridge Inventory.
Many people mistakenly believe these are all two-lane roads, but that's simply not the case anymore, especially in fast-growing areas.
Even where county-owned roads are two lanes, they are critical to economic competitiveness.
They help connect farms to markets, plants to ports, and families to jobs.
Nearly every trip in America, whether moving people or freight, begins and ends on a locally owned road.
Maintaining a strong, safe, and efficient transportation system requires coordination and partnership among all levels of government.
For example, Highway 287 in Wise County is the most dangerous corridor in Wise County.
The Texas Department of Transportation's corridor study has identified 15 safety projects along the segment of 287 in Wise County, including frontage roads, overpasses, and grade separation work.
What most people don't see is that even though 287 is a state-owned, TxDOT-maintained highway, Wise County is the one fighting for it.
Large-scale projects like Highway 287 cannot move with local dollars alone, and the current way of distributing federal transportation dollars doesn't align with needs on the ground.
Congress has an opportunity to fix this in the Surface Transportation Reauthorization Bill, known as the Build America 250 Act, that was recently approved by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on a bipartisan vote.
As the full House considers the legislation, the county requests are simple.
First, increase the share of federal formula funding shared with local and regional partners to 25%.
Second, retain select discretionary grant programs counties can access as primary partners, not just subrecipients.
Third, streamline project delivery and bolster planning to ensure that when dollars are available, counties can move quickly before inflation erodes them.
These are not partisan requests.
They are engineering requests grounded in research.
To read the full article written by Judge Clark, visit countyprogress.com.
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