In a report from The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, political wrangling can often get in the way of critical infrastructure improvements Case in point: The rebuilding of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge (Originally aired: Sept. 29, 2009).

What do you call a highway program that just keeps going long after its original goals were achieved? A zombie highway. Blueprint America -- with The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer -- goes to Birmingham, Alabama, to look into the Northern Beltline, a road that will cost more than $3 billion, most of which will be paid for by taxpayers nationwide.

An exchange with Phillip Wiedmeyer, a leading advocate for Birmingham's Northern Beltline, about the argument for more highway building in Alabama -- it's a how to on Zombie Higways.

Blueprint America correspondent Rick Karr in a web report from Alabama on the environmental impact of building highways, and the growth they can create.

Rep. Jim Oberstar (D., MN), Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, has been at odds with the Obama Administration on when to take up his recently introduced transportation bill: THE SURFACE TRANSPORTATION AUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2009.

Blueprint America: Public Works is an effort by 18 public television stations across the country that concentrates on the state of their local infrastructure. Communities -- big and small, urban and rural -- are, for the first time, collectively rethinking what it takes to make a place livable. PBS stations are producing radio and television segments, hosting discussions between policy makers and their communities, and offering further content online, all as a part of Blueprint America.

New York Now on WMHT public television in New York - as a part of Blueprint America - looks at the politics New York State spending on infrastructure.

Blueprint America correspondent Rick Karr interviews Edward Hamberger, President and CEO of the Association of American Railroads (AAR), about the state of freight rail in America today, as well as its future. The AAR represents the interests of the major freight railroads in the United States, Canada and Mexico, and Amtrak.

New York mayor Michael Bloomberg unveiled six infrastructure projects across the city that will receive $261 million in stimulus funds, including the Brooklyn Bridge. Check out our interactive map for more about each project.