By DENISE RICHARDSON
Managing Director of the General Contractors of New York

Whaddya know? You can get there from here.

Today, the new Willis Avenue Bridge is due to be eased into place, completing its carefully planned journey by barge to its permanent home. It will replace a structure built in 1901 and now one of the lowest-rated bridges in New York City.

The replacement arrived literally in the nick of time. More than 70,000 vehicles a day use the bridge, which has been past the point of no return for years.

Yet this is just one success story among a limitless need to replace and upgrade our transportation network. These days, it’s all too common for infrastructure projects to be put on hold, delayed or cancelled.

We’re going from bad to worse — and fast. Earlier this year, the transportation think-tank TRIP released a report highlighting the crisis state of New York’s infrastructure. Some 82 percent of major roads in the city are in poor condition, and 35 percent of bridges are structurally deficient. Traffic congestion costs the average driver 44 hours a year.

A lack of funding is delaying such critical projects as the renovation of Kosciuszko Bridge and the expansion of the Major Deegan Expressway, while officials are reducing the scope of other projects so that they only meet immediate needs and provide no room for growth. The state Department of Transportation and MTA five-year capital programs face a $20 billion funding gap over the next five years.

Too many elected leaders opt to postpone the decisions to launch genuine infrastructure improvements because they don’t want any vote in favor of a tax hike coming anywhere near their names — and are also unwilling to fully disclose to their constituents how the “dedicated” taxes they already pay are diverted to other uses

Our dedicated highway and bridge trust fund is broke – with 37.7 percent of its revenues over the last 16 years having gone to cover state operating expenses rather than to pay for the repairs and other basic work it was set up to fund.

On top of that, the state collects $1.15 billion a year in gasoline-sales taxes, supposedly to fund transportation needs — yet the money instead goes to the general fund, never to be seen when it comes time to fund a road, bridge or transit project.

The problem is not exclusive to New York. Federal transportation policy is stuck in its own holding pattern because no politician wants to venture near the hot-button issue of raising the gasoline tax, the proven generator of user fees that have paid for our transportation infrastructure since 1956.

The continued deterioration of our ability to move people and goods has chilling implications for America’s economy.

A partial solution is found at the pump. Without question, taxes have become the bane of our society — yet few can offer an alternative to gasoline taxes as a funding source to repair the roads that move our economy.

Yes, the public has every right to be cynical that gas taxes will yield a smoother, safer ride — since officials already siphon off dedicated highway-trust money for other government spending.

To win public acceptance of these taxes, infrastructure advocates need to do far better at proving the direct connection between the taxes charged at the pump and the condition of our roads and bridges. And the revenue must go to irrevocable trusts that will reliably direct the taxes to the specific purpose they were raised for.

Organizations like the US Chamber of Commerce, the American Trucking Association and AAA are now united in support of a gas-tax increase to fund transportation improvements – because they all recognize that safe roads and bridges keep the economy and the drivers moving.

Overall, Americans are paying the lowest gasoline taxes since the early days of the automobile. Federal fuel taxes have lost 33 percent of their purchasing power since the last increase in 1993 — yet there’s plainly no support for a new hike. Meanwhile, states continue to pilfer from gas-tax trust funds and underfund capital programs.

Elected officials face a simple choice: Either preside over a crumbling and often dangerous transportation infrastructure — or build political support for a funding structure that can do the job, and so strengthen our city, our economy and our future.

The arrival of the new Willis Avenue Bridge is a dramatic demonstration of a success that’s been years in the making. We can get there from here. But we need to be willing to pay for it.

Denise Richardson is the man aging director of the General Contractors Association of NY.