Presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has proposed a $10 billion infrastructure plan, citing the recent and fatal bridge collapse in Minneapolis and the disaster in New Orleans as warning signs of tragedies to come.

The problem, and something that Auburn city residents understand all too well, is that addressing such issues requires a disruption of transportation. Especially in larger city areas where highways barely accommodate the number of travelers as is. Redirecting people en route is a surmountable obstacle only when there is an alternate detour available.

However, I believe Sen. Clinton is correct in that this is not an issue that the United States can continue to neglect. The infrastructure plan will require a re-evaluation and in some cases a rebuild of bridges and highways that have been in use for 50 years or more. We cannot continue to patch and jury-rig our nation.

The time Americans spend stuck in traffic amounts to $170 billion per year in wasted fuel, productivity and damage to the environment. And, as the documentary is titled, such issues are an “Inconvenient Truth” that we need to address as a nation before it's too late.

Ten billion dollars is a large sum of money. It's difficult for me to put that figure into perspective, yet I know that to restructure our existing infrastructure (say that 10 times fast) will cost far more than that. The good news is that this is not a job that can be outsourced. Sen. Clinton estimates that this project could create nearly 50,000 jobs on a long-term basis, as the proposed project would be an enormous undertaking.

Clinton has also said that, if elected, she intends to increase federal funding for public transit, targeting communities that have encouraged residential development. She would also increase funding to areas that make the best use of public transportation, including inner city railways.

This comes back to a popular criticism of Sen. Clinton - that she always puts the city before more rural communities. But then again, you won't see hundreds of cars piled bumper to bumper on a dirt road, and I'm glad for it. If you did there would be no more farms or stables and our beautiful lakes would be destroyed by the pollution.

I try to think of America as a whole. Auburn is a city in desperate need of road repair, but I would gladly share that funding with any of our nation's great cities, areas with more immediate need, especially if it will help prevent another national disaster.

Estabrook's column appears Mondays and she can be reached at estabrookcarole@yahoo.com