“I think all of those who have been surface transportation advocates have in fact been heard by the Congress, because they are supportive of this program, but that said, many of those same groups who are advocating for transportation investment have also made the point that what we really need is that sustainable source of revenue for the longer term. And the Congress did not address that issue. They chose to use what revenues do flow into the Highway Trust Fund but are insufficient to support today’s program levels and supplement those with general funds.”
View this complete post...Archive for the ‘National’ Category
Our Future with the FAST Act: Bud Wright, Executive Director, AASHTO
Thursday, December 10th, 2015The New Federal Transportation Program: What It Means for Your Business – Webinar, December 14th, 1:30pm- 3pm EST
Wednesday, December 9th, 2015Congress has finally approved a new, long-term surface transportation program – the FAST Act. The $305 billion package will boost investments in highway and transit projects, giving State and local transportation agencies five full years of dedicated federal assistance, unlocking stalled projects and unleashing a new wave of contracting opportunities for engineering firms…To preview how the FAST Act will impact the business outlook for A/E/C firms, The American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) presents an exclusive on-line seminar: The New Federal Transportation Program – What It Means for Your Business.
View this complete post...Our Future with the FAST Act: James Corless, Director, Transportation for America
Wednesday, December 9th, 2015“…I think unfortunately we’ve come to a point in the U.S. and in Congress that infrastructure writ large is still somewhat a bipartisan issue—and I think this sort of cemented that for at least the next 5 years—but the type of infrastructure is not. So we’d like to see a more performance driven system where you invest in the projects that give you the biggest bang for the buck, and unfortunately I think we’re still going to be stuck in these kinds of 20th century silos for the next 5 years.”
View this complete post...Blueprint 2025: How the Next President Should Handle Infrastructure
Tuesday, December 8th, 2015There will be a new resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in about 14 months, and no matter who that person is, infrastructure will be on the agenda. No matter how you measure it, U.S. infrastructure investment is falling behind the country’s needs and the rest of the world. The needs are so big that it begs a question: where would a new President start? So the infrastructure consulting firm of CG LA pulled in an entire group of infrastructure experts throughout the country–including several who work with McGraw Hill Financial–to put together a list of infrastructure priorities and the means of making them reality.
View this complete post...A Requiem for the Highway Trust Fund
Tuesday, December 8th, 2015Innovation Newsbriefs
Vol. 26, No. 8
The FAST Act, signed by the President on December 4, marks the beginning of the end for the Highway Trust Fund as we have known it. The $305 billion 5-year measure draws heavily on general funds (to the tune of $70 billion), and relegates to a virtual anachronism the “user pays” principle that was the philosophic foundation of the federal-aid highway program for the past 60 years.
AASHTO TV: The Pros and Cons of the FAST Act
Tuesday, December 8th, 2015Congress has approved Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) – the first long-term highway and transit program authorization in a decade –giving state DOTs the certainty to plan and implement significant investments in the nation’s aging infrastructure. In this Transportation TV Exclusive American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Executive Director Bud Wright and AASHTO Chief Operating Officer Jim Tymon react to the historic legislation. Wright and Tymon rely on their years of transportation policy expertise to examine the highlights and downsides of the FAST ACT.
View this complete post...Finally, the FAST Act Is Here!
Monday, December 7th, 2015On Friday, December 4th, President Obama signed into law the first long-term transportation bill the U.S. has seen in ten years. The “Fixing America’s Surface Transportation” or “FAST” Act marks a long-awaited bi-partisan compromise. The act calls for an 11% increase in funding over its five-year span, and makes provisions for $16 billion in annual transportation funding not covered by the gas tax.
View this complete post...Transportation Infrastructure: Information on Bridge Conditions
Thursday, December 3rd, 2015UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE
In summary, based on 2014 NBI data, the nation has 610,749 bridges. Of those bridges, 23 percent are on the NHS, and this 23 percent comprise 58 percent of the nation’s total deck area. Nearly 25 percent of all bridges are deficient, with 10 percent categorized as structurally deficient and 14 percent categorized as functionally obsolete. Of bridges on the NHS, 4 percent are categorized as structurally deficient while 17 percent are categorized as functionally obsolete. State agencies own about half of all bridges and over 90 percent of NHS bridges.
Walk Lobby TV: Why Transportation Professionals Need Intervention
Tuesday, December 1st, 2015When a friend has a pattern of behavior that brings harm to other people, what do you do? Intervene…American society is quick to talk about treatment for self-destructive behaviors that lead to dangerous situations for others. But what about transportation professionals?
View this complete post...Unclogging America’s Arteries: Prescriptions for Healthier Highways
Friday, November 27th, 2015AMERICAN HIGHWAY USERS ALLIANCE
Severe congestion continues to stymie passenger and freight movement on many of America’s critical urban Interstates and freeways. This 2015 update to Unclogging America’s Arteries identifies the 50 worst highway bottlenecks in the U.S. and demonstrates that the cost of doing nothing is too significant to ignore.
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