Chances are, as you drive to work each morning, you think very little about the road beneath your vehicle. Chances are, you are more worried about getting your children off to school, getting to work on time, or getting that cup of coffee to start your day.

Americans should not need to worry about the road or the bridge they drive on crumbling beneath them. But that is exactly what happened last month in Minneapolis, when a typical evening commute turned into tragedy. Thirteen people died in what was the worst bridge disaster since 1967, when the Silver Bridge at Point Pleasant fell into the Ohio River, killing 46 people.

Many West Virginians still have a personal connection with the tragedy that befell those individuals who perished in the Silver Bridge collapse. Our sense of grief, our shock, and our outrage were shared by the rest of the country. The following year, Congress passed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1968, which created the National Bridge Inspection Program. It established the standards by which bridges in the National Highway System are inspected.

I am saddened that 40 years after the Silver Bridge disaster, we are confronted again by such a tragic failure of essential infrastructure.

It is estimated that 46 percent of the bridges in West Virginia's interstate system will need significant repairs by 2026. That work will eat into an already tight budgetary environment, especially when you consider that in the coming years the state plans to add additional lanes along 142 miles of interstate and begin 170 new transportation projects.

Many in Congress have known for some time that the difference between what we need to spend on improving our bridges and roads and what we are spending, is far too wide. In the last highway reauthorization bill, Congress initially offered legislation calling for $375 billion to fund the nation's transportation priorities, but the Administration objected. In the end, Congress passed a bill that the President signed containing just $286 billion. That $90 billion difference is almost double the Federal Highway Administration's estimated cost of replacing structurally deficient bridges nationwide.

It has been half a century since President Dwight D. Eisenhower laid out his vision for an interconnected highway system that paved the way for economic expansion and helped make us the world superpower we are today. What has happened to that vision today?

While the Administration claims that "all options are on the table" when rebuilding and defending allies abroad, they choose not to make the same commitment domestically for our infrastructure. Based on the White House's budget request, the Administration seems to believe that building bridges in Baghdad is important, but building bridges along the Appalachian Development Highway system is unnecessary.

Our growing competitor, China, has taken notice of our interstate system, and how its safety and continuity has reaped rewards for the U.S. economically. Since the mid-1990's, China has built more than 25,000 miles of multi-lane highways and has plans for an additional 27,000 miles. At this rate, some say China's national highway system will surpass ours by 2020.

We know that for every billion dollars we invest in our infrastructure, we create 47,500 jobs. As we proceed into the 21st Century, we must not continue to fall behind on our transportation improvements. To do so is to place at risk America's economic vitality and international leadership.