Innovation in transportation
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx warned, in remarks at an MIT forum on Monday, that America’s “infrastructure deficit” was growing and would worsen without further investment and long-term planning for new technologies. “Whatever the infrastructure deficit is on paper, it’s probably a multiple of that when you take into account the projects that are not being planned right now because of uncertainty about funding and other aspects of our transportation system,” Foxx told a capacity audience in MIT’s Wong Auditorium. Foxx emphasized his department’s ongoing work on a 30-year plan focused on the future of transportation in America. He also spoke about a broad range of areas in which technology and innovation can provide economic growth and social benefits, including freight hubs and logistics; high-speed rail; air-safety systems; and auto technologies, including vehicle-to-vehicle safety technology and possibly autonomous vehicles. “There’s a lot of [new] technology that’s out there right now,” said Foxx,...