Speaking at a media event atop an interstate overpass construction site in Norman, U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe told a small crowd Friday that President Donald Trump is serious about a proposed $1 trillion national infrastructure plan.
The Republican is chair of a Senate subcommittee that oversees such programs and he said Oklahoma stands to benefit from a new focus for federal funding.
Inhofe joined state transportation officials for a day-long media tour at the Tulsa Port of Catoosa, one of the country's largest inland river-ports.
At the Norman stop, Inhofe said President Trump would make good on his promise to spend big to repair deteriorating locks and dams on such waterways. And help states with neglected road and highway projects.
"If you read the Constitution it says we're supposed to be doing two major things in there. Number one: Defending America. Number two: They called them post roads back then, but roads and highways."
The clock is ticking for Oklahoma lawmakers to fill a nearly $900 million budget hole and ongoing revenue crisis agency heads say is delaying state transportation projects. Inhofe warned Oklahoma officials that underfunding roads and highways could jeopardize federal money.
