Tag: transportation funding: Page 43

Business

A drive on a Texas high-speed toll road: Is this how everybody will drive in the future? I hope not.

Over the holidays I had the opportunity to travel south on the newest Texas toll road, otherwise known as State Highway 130. The 131-mile road was built to ease Austin’s crushing traffic burdens, particularly along Interstate 35, but controversy has dogged the project since the road opened. The financing for SH 130 has always been […]

January 8, 2015

Roadbuilding

T-WORKS has done wonders for Kansas but more transportation funding still needed

Throughout the recent months Kansas has made progress in improving the conditions of its road and bridge conditions, largely through increased transportation funding provided by the T-WORKS program, which was authorized by the state legislature in 2010. With that said, the state still faces several challenges in addressing traffic safety, state and local road and bridge conditions, and […]

January 7, 2015

Roadbuilding

Shuster rules out gas tax increase

The chairman of the House Transportation Committee, Bill Shuster, says passing a long-term transportation funding bill is top priority heading into 2015, but he rules out the possibility of a gasoline tax increase, or a motorist user fee, according to a report on triblive.com. Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Hollidaysburg, has been a supporter of a vehicle-miles-traveled tax […]

December 30, 2014

Roadbuilding

A New Year’s Resolution for Congress

Ever get tired of reading about the Highway Trust Fund (HTF)? It seems like every other day a new politician is stressing the importance of transportation infrastructure, yet Congress continuously fails to reach a long-term transportation funding plan. Heading into 2014, people were hopeful for a long-term bill. Unfortunately, Congress was unable to work out […]

December 30, 2014

Business

AASHTO: Annual road investment of $120 billion needed to keep up with demand

Next year will be a critical year for America’s surface transportation infrastructure, according to a just released report from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. In addition to getting highway legislation beyond the short-term mindset (a current extension ends in May), an annual investment of $120 billion for highways and bridges between 2015 and […]

December 24, 2014

Business

Congress passes $1.1 trillion spending bill; cuts $5 billion from federal construction accounts

Two days after the legislation was passed by a tight vote in the House, the Senate passed a $1.1 trillion spending bill Saturday night that includes both good and bad news for federal construction accounts in 2015. The bill keeps the government funded through September, when the fiscal year ends. The Senate passed the spending […]

December 15, 2014

Business

Alabama has no plans to raise gas tax; state will rely on next year’s bond issue for road projects

Gov. Robert Bentley says he has no plans to ask the Alabama legislature to raise the state’s 16-cent-per-gallon gas tax, responding to emailed questions submitted by The Tuscaloosa News. Instead, Alabama instead will look to a $508.5 million highway bond issue to finance highway projects, bonds that last week received a AAA rating from Standard […]

December 15, 2014

Roadbuilding

President Obama calls America’s transportation infrastructure ’embarrassing’

President Obama is embarrassed by the current state of America’s transportation infrastructure and he made no bones about it while talking to corporate leaders. “I’d much rather have our problems than China’s problems. That I’m confident about. On the other hand, the one thing I will say is if they need to build some stuff, […]

December 3, 2014

Roadbuilding

Reps using former President Reagan to push for gas tax increase

A bipartisan pair of House members are attempting to build support for a federal gas tax increase by using former President Ronald Reagan. The tax was increased in 1982, or two years into the Reagan administration. The move has remained extremely popular among conservatives, and it has not changed since 1993 – four years after […]

December 3, 2014

Roadbuilding

Wisconsin approves $670 million worth of repairs

The Wisconsin Transportation Panel has approved three major highway repair projects that will total approximately $670 million. Gov. Scott Walker, who chairs the 15-member Transportation Projects Commission of lawmakers and citizens, said the approved projects were needed for the safety of the state’s transportation infrastructure. “The major highway projects being recommended for construction have undergone […]

December 2, 2014

Business

AGC economist forecasts strong construction growth thanks to ‘shale gale’, Panama Canal expansion

The morning after Republicans won back the U.S. Senate, Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America, said that conservative majorities in both houses of Congress are unlikely to spend money to improve the the country’s infrastructure, but that private construction will be robust. The keynote speaker Wednesday at the 2014 Association […]

November 6, 2014

Roadbuilding

Gov. Scott Walker considers replacing Wisconsin’s gas tax

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is considering replacing the state’s gasoline tax with a sales tax on gas and alternative vehicle fuel sources to stabilize long-term transportation funding. However, Walker offered few specifics, and the impact of charging a sales tax to consumers at the pump is unclear in comparison to the existing tax on gasoline suppliers that gets […]

October 16, 2014