Tag: highway spending

Roadbuilding

Road construction jobs surpass 2019 employment stats for June

Of the 224 major sectors of the economy, only 27 posted annual gains in the number of jobs in June – and one of those was transportation construction, according to the American Road and Transportation Builders Association. The sector just barely added more jobs in June versus June 2019. Highway, street and bridge contractors employed 284,400 […]

August 19, 2020

Roadbuilding

Illinois DOT launches month-long infrastructure needs listening tour

The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) has teamed up with the Illinois Capital Development Board (ICDB) to tour the state with a series of listening sessions to gather a list of infrastructure needs to present recommendations to Gov. Bruce Rauner later this year. Updated schedules for the month-long tour are available at www.idot.illinois.gov. “With a […]

April 24, 2015

Roadbuilding

TRIP report ties Michigan economic health to road and bridge conditions

The Road Improvement Program’s latest report examining the conditions of Michigan’s transportation system identifies issues with “long-term economic growth” if roads and bridges within the state are not improved within the next few years. “Failure to make needed improvements to Michigan’s transportation system could threaten the state’s economic recovery,” the organization said. In the report, […]

April 22, 2015

Roadbuilding

Bipartisan highway bill would tie federal gas tax to inflation, create transportation commission

A bipartisan group of representatives have introduced a long-term bill for funding infrastructure that would tie the gas tax to inflation and create a bipartisan, bicameral Transportation Commission to provide long-term funding of the Highway Trust Fund. The Highway Trust Fund (HTF), which provides the bulk of road and bridge project budgets, will dry up […]

April 20, 2015

Roadbuilding

Paul, Boxer intro bill calling for 6.5% tax on repatriated foreign earnings to fund highway spending

As we near the May 31 funding deadline for the Highway Trust Fund (HTF), an expected flurry of proposed legislation to extend funding is popping up, with the latest being a bipartisan proposal from Senators Barbara Boxer (D-California) and Rand Paul (R-Kentucky). Their Invest in Transportation Act, S. 981, would ask for companies to voluntarily […]

April 20, 2015

Roadbuilding

#FixTheTrustFund campaign aims to flood social media with infographics supporting a long-term highway bill

The Transportation Construction Coalition this week launched a 12-day social media infographic campaign to “press Congress to find a permanent fix for the federal Highway Trust Fund (HTF)” before funding runs out at the end of May this year. Members of the coalition began posting infographics on their respective social media networks on March 16 that […]

March 20, 2015

Roadbuilding

Ground broken on Florida’s I-4 Ultimate project

Florida Gov. Rick Scott officially kicked off the metropolitan Orlando Interstate 4 improvement project at a groundbreaking ceremony Feb. 17 in Maitland, according to a report by the Orlando Sentinel. Dubbed I-4 Ultimate, the $2.3 billion project will involve rebuilding 21 miles of the interstate on a section between Orange County and Seminole County. Two tolled Express Lanes will […]

February 19, 2015

Roadbuilding

Wisconsin road building debt to increase under governor’s proposal

Gov. Scott Walker’s current $1.3 billion road construction borrowing proposal would up state borrowing for road projects to a point that almost 20 percent would be used to pay off highway loans, according to an Associated Press report. The report continues that this increase, to 20 cents of every dollar taken in, is a leap from the 7 […]

February 18, 2015

Roadbuilding

Sanders says his $1 trillion infrastructure bill would cost less than Iraq War

Sen. Bernie Sanders says his 5-year $1 trillion infrastructure bill would cost less than the estimated cost of the “Bush/Cheney Iraq War”, according to a report from The Hill. In a speech at the Brookings Institution in Washington, the independent senator from Vermont said estimates of the total cost of the war “will total $3 […]

February 10, 2015

Roadbuilding

Obama proposes 6-year, $478 billion highway bill; industry groups voice support

As part of his new, $3.99 trillion budget released Monday, President Barack Obama has proposed $478 billion to fund the country’s transportation and infrastructure work over the next six years. Instead of raising the federal gas tax, Obama’s proposal would be paid for with money generated by a one-time tax holiday for companies with overseas investments. […]

February 2, 2015

Business

Road builders, construction groups oppose bill to lower gas tax, surrender federal highway authority to states

Construction groups and transportation interests have written Congress to express opposition to the so-called “devolution” of the federal highway program and the proposed Transportation Empowerment Act. The bill, introduced in the House and Senate last fall, transfers almost all authority over federal highway and transit programs to the states over a five-year period. It would […]

September 18, 2014

Business

Senate passes highway bill with reduced funding; sends vote back to House with pressure for long-term solution

On Tuesday the Senate voted to pass a bill that would stave off the looming insolvency of the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) after making key changes to the legislation that will send it right back to the House for another vote. The HTF is the primary source of federal funding for road construction and repairs. The […]

July 30, 2014