Set aside for a moment concerns about political gridlock on Capitol Hill. Think about the actual gridlock that could await lawmakers and citizens on their way to Capitol Hill.

Earlier in March, Washington area residents learned that one of the major bridges in the city – one that carries about 70,000 vehicles a day past the iconic Lincoln Memorial to either downtown Washington or the Virginia suburbs – will have to be shut down in five years without a $250 million reconstruction. It’s a federal bridge, but Republicans who control Congress so far aren’t appropriating the money for the needed reconstruction.

The water crisis in Flint, Michigan is the perfect case for why our country needs more funding for infrastructure, not less.