A study by the American Society for Civil Engineers found that the cost of failing to invest more in the U.S. transportation infrastructure would total $3.1 trillion in lost Gross Domestic Product growth by 2020. The study also said investing only at current levels would cause 877,000 jobs to be lost. Already, according to the report, deficient and deteriorating surface transportation cost $130 billion in 2010.

Most of the costs would not come from dramatic failings of America’s transportation system — such as the collapse of the I-35W Bridge in Minnesota — but from more common occurrences such as vehicles damaged by potholes and crowded highways that slow down commercial trucks and thus drive up the cost of shipping.

The report says congestion is a major concern. Already, 40 percent of urban interstates have capacity deficiencies, costing $27 billion a year in lost time and other inefficiencies. By 2020, that number could grow tenfold, reaching $276 billion a year.

The study found that an infrastructure shortfall would ripple through society. It estimates that companies would underperform by $240 billion over the next 10 years without additional infrastructure investment. Exporters, which would have trouble moving goods to market, would send $28 billion less in foreign trade. The cost to families’ household budgets, the report suggests, would by $1,060 a year.

The report received the backing of both labor and business leaders.

“Today’s report from the American Society of Civil Engineers further reinforces that the U.S. is missing a huge opportunity to ignite economic growth, improve our global competitiveness, and create jobs,” said Tom Donohue, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Richard Trumka, the AFL-CIO president, said, “with a modest increase in investment, we can rebuild a strong economy where business can thrive and workers can afford a place to live, raise a family, take an occasional vacation, pay for their children’s education and have a dignified retirement.”

The ASCE says the solution is to  Invest more, and to do it quickly.

“The problems facing our nation’s infrastructure are widely acknowledged and well understood,” said Andrew Herrmann, the president-elect of the ASCE.

But re-authorization of the transportation bill that pays for most infrastructure work has stalled in Congress. The House Republican outline for a bill would slash one third of transportation funding. The idea behind cutting those funds is that private enterprise could fill the gap.

Further, gas taxes revenues, which have traditionally been used to pay for transportation funding, are falling because they aren’t tied to inflation and more people are switching over to fuel-efficient cars. Conservatives refuse to consider covering the shortfall through some new form of taxation, even though they might appreciate infrastructure’s benefits to business.

But even the Republican chair of the House Transportation Committee is not satisfied with his transportation plan. He said he was forced to limit his spending plan because of the House GOP leadership’s aversion to tax revenue.

“They wouldn’t vote on a Mother’s Day resolution if it had extra spending on it,” Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.) told the Wall Street Journal.

David Goldberg, the communications director of Transportation for America, said part of the problem with finding new government funding for transportation lies with the fact that there are fewer new roads to be built. Much of what need to be done is fixing old highways.

“Maintenance and repair and upgrades are not as sexy as ribbon-cuttings on new projects,” Goldberg said, “And there’s a lot of political pressure many times to build new projects.”

Goldberg also would like to see more access to mass transit. The ASCE report says the cost of deficiencies to Americans in bus transit alone would add up to $398 billion by 2020.

The new report does not specify what type of projects should receive new transportation money, if any was allocated. But ASCE does give a nod toward high speed rail, saying:

“Most of America’s major economic competitors in Europe and Asia — including Japan, Germany, France, Spain and Great Britain, as well as rapidly developing and developed countries such as China, Taiwan and South Korea — have already invested in and are reaping the benefits of improved competitiveness from their intermetropolitan high speed rail systems. Simply continuing to invest in the nation’s existing transportation infrastructure may not be enough to maintain its standing in the global economy in the long run.

But deteriorating roads don’t make everyone worse off. The report says the future looks good for auto repair shops, which are expected to see increased demand as our roads get worse.