Trump to push for $1T for roads, bridges

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is launching a major push for a $1-trillion US overhaul of the nation’s roads and bridges, a key item on his domestic agenda that’s gained little traction amid a slew of controversies that have engulfed the White House.

Trump plans a series of events this week to highlight his effort to modernize American infrastructure — the highway, waterway, electrical and airway systems on which the nation operates. His campaign for public and private funding for the projects is expected to run from the White House, where he’ll speak about upgrading air traffic control, to Ohio on inland waterways and through meetings with mayors, governors and Transportation Department officials.

Trump’s agenda has been overshadowed by ongoing probes into whether Trump campaign officials or associ- ates colluded with Russian officials to influence the 2016 election, as well as scrutiny over Trump’s firing of FBI director James Comey — who is scheduled to testify on Capitol Hill Thursday.

And other policies on the agenda, such as health care and taxes, come first on a fast-closing legislative calendar.

But modernizing the nation’s infrastructure remains a challenge with broad public support.

Trump’s push to revamp deteriorating roads, bridges, airports and railways aims to unlock economic growth and succeed in an area where his predecessor, former president Barack Obama, was repeatedly thwarted by a Republican-led Congress.

White House economic adviser Gary Cohn said the nation was “falling behind and the falling behind is affecting economic growth in the U.S.”