Brian Tumulty

Gannett Washington bureau

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama plans to visit the Tappan Zee Bridge in the Hudson Valley on Wednes­day for a speech highlighting the need for congressional action on infrastruc­ture spending, the White House an­nounced Saturday. Obama will use his visit to the site, where work is underway on pilings for a new bridge spanning the Hudson River, to highlight the urgency of replenishing the Highway Trust Fund. The admini­stration predicts the fund will become insolvent by the end of the summer.

The White House plans several infra­structure- themed events in the coming week, starting with the release a report Monday to lay out its argument for infra­structure investment and the funding crisis if Congress fails to act.

On Wednesday, Obama will combine his Tappan Zee Bridge visit with a stop in Cleveland, Ohio, to look at a new transit station.

Construction is in full swing to re­place the 58-year-old Tappan Zee, a $3.9 billion project recently approved for a $1.6 billion federal loan. It’s the largest loan ever awarded under the Transporta­tion Infrastructure and Innovation Act.

But the administration is warning some projects could be halted, slowed or not undertaken in the coming months.

“We have reports that many states are already re-thinking their investment plans due to the uncertainty,” U.S. Trans­portation Secretary Anthony Foxx told a Senate committee last week.

The administration identified the Tappan Zee’s replacement in 2011 as one of the nation’s top infrastructure priori­ties. The project also became a key goal for Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has been lauded for reviving the decade-old plan to build a new three-mile crossing. Major construction on the twin span began in October.

Foxx told the Senate last week the ad­ministration is open to a variety of possi­bilities for raising new revenue to fi­nance the Highway Trust Fund.

The administration, however, has pro­posed a one-time infusion of $150 billion into the fund, using revenue generated by corporate tax reform.

BTUMULTY

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