The best thinkers — and doers — in transportation infrastructure might just be found far far from our nation’s capital.

When it comes to giving America the best transportation infrastructure it can have, the  Carnegie Endowment for International Peace says, basically, think locally, act nationally.” That is, Washington should look at successful local and regional thinking and find a way to support it.

Writing in The Congress Blog in The Hill,  Shin-pei Tsay, director of cities and transportation at the Carnegie Endowment,  says “Innovative transport projects have caught on in a big way, especially with America’s towns and cities. But national policies lag far behind. When it comes to transportation policymaking, it’s time for Congress to stroll along Main Street.”

Talking about a Carnegie report, Tsay says it determined that, “…we found that not only does the current transportation system contribute to the national deficit by as much as $100 billion annually, it no longer gives the country a return on investment.”

The report, Road to Recovery: Transforming America’s Transportation, is the work of former senator Bill Bradley, former governor and secretary of homeland security Tom Ridge, and former comptroller general Dave Walker. It examines opportunities to change the course of transportation through its funding mechanism, says Carnegie.

Take a look at the blog entry before you tackle  the full report.