The White House issued the proclamation last Friday ahead of this week's recognition of National Transportation Week. Highlighting the importance of the nation's transportation infrastructure -- and of the men and women who build, maintain, and utilize it -- Congress approved in 1962 the creation of National Transportation Week to be celebrated every mid-May.

"Maintaining the transportation networks that earlier generations bequeathed to us is a challenge, and we must do more than preserve the status quo," the president proclaimed. "As we celebrate the legacy of our nation's transportation arteries, we recognize the world is now more connected and more competitive than ever before. New companies around the world look for the fastest and most reliable ways to move people and goods. To attract new businesses to our shores, we must rebuild crumbling roads and bridges and continue to invest in the modernization of our infrastructure. We must repair our highways, reengineer our railroads into high speed rail networks, and ready ourselves for the next revolutionary breakthroughs in transportation technology."

Obama also emphasized the importance of making the transportation system more environmentally friendly.

"We must provide increased transportation options that cut commuting time, ease traffic congestion, reduce oil consumption, lower greenhouse-gas emissions, and expand access to job opportunities and housing that American families can afford," the president wrote. "Together, we can continue the work started by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to maintain a world class logistics network, create new jobs, and win the future for our children."

The presidential proclamation is available at 1.usa.gov/NTWP2011.

LaHood Recognizes National Transportation Week in California

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood toured some California projects Wednesday that are putting Americans to work building a less-oil-dependent transportation system. LaHood and Rep. Mike Thompson, D-California, marked National Transportation Week by visiting four different ways of moving people and goods.

The pair first toured the headquarters of the California Fuel-Cell Partnership, a facility LaHood described as "the nerve-center for California's state-of-the-art fuel-cell development," including transit buses, some of which are already in passenger service for Alameda/Contra Costa Transit.

They then visited the Port of West Sacramento, which was recently transformed thanks in part to a $30 million TIGER grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation, followed by the Napa Valley Vine Trail. When completed, the pedestrian and bicycle trail will connect five municipalities, serve as the spine for many existing trails, and allow Californians to get around while leaving their cars at home, LaHood wrote on his blog.

"Investing in pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure is a cost-effective way to reduce traffic congestion, greenhouse-gas emissions, and dependence on oil while also providing public health and safety benefits," LaHood wrote.

Thompson and LaHood ended their day at the groundbreaking for a new glideslope system at Napa County Airport. The system will allow pilots to land safely in bad weather, and therefore help avoid rerouting to congested San Francisco Bay Area airports, according to USDOT.