Anyone who has driven on America's highways knows the story: potholes, cracked pavement and endless construction zones. Billions of tax dollars are spent every year just to maintain our roads, but they always seem one step behind. What most motorists don't realize is that much of the damage comes from heavy trucks - and how little trucking companies pay to repair it.

According to federal estimates, a single fully loaded 18-wheeler can inflict pavement damage equivalent to that of nearly 10,000 passenger cars. Yet fuel taxes and highway user fees collected from trucking companies cover only a fraction of the wear and tear they cause. The rest is subsidized by taxpayers, who shoulder the cost of constant repaving and bridge repairs


The recently proposed merger of Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern represents an opportunity to improve our roads and our supply chains at the same time. By creating a more efficient, coast-to-coast rail network, the merger would allow railroads to capture more freight that currently travels by truck - relieving taxpayers of billions of dollars in hidden subsidies for road repair.

Combining Union Pacific's railroad, which spans much of the western U.S., with Norfolk Southern's network in the east, would create the country's first transcontinental rail company, stretching from coast to coast. For shippers, that would mean single-line pricing rather than dealing with various operators across separate rail networks to get from point A to point B. It also would allow for faster delivery thanks to the elimination of interchanges and lower costs.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/urban-infrastructure/transportation-infrastructure/railroad-merger-will-be-good-for-taxpayers-and-roads-here-s-why