Tag: transportation funding: Page 46

Roadbuilding

12-cent gas tax hike could pay for transportation projects

With the current highway bill, MAP-21, nearing expiration and the Highway Trust Fund (HTF), the main transportation funding source, projected to shortfall in just over two months, the search is on for a new way to fund transportation infrastructure projects. Two senators have contributed to the search by suggesting an increase of the federal gas […]

June 19, 2014

Roadbuilding

Virginia Commonwealth Transportation Board approves 6-year program allocating $13.1 billion for transportation projects

Virginia’s Commonwealth Transportation Board has approved the state’s Six-Year Improvement Plan, which allocates $13.1 million to transportation improvements over a six-year period, Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced Wednesday. Allocations are divided by category, with $9.9 billion allocated to highway construction and $3.2 billion to rail and public transportation. The program, which begins July 1, includes the […]

June 19, 2014

Roadbuilding

Lawmaker looks to crude oil tax, indexed diesel tax for Highway Trust Fund solution; Plan would remove gas tax

As the Highway Trust Fund’s insolvency looms, Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) has introduced a highway funding plan that would repeal the federal gas tax in favor of other funding options, like taxing oil barrels and indexing the diesel tax to inflation and fleet fuel economy. DeFazio’s Repeal and Rebuild Act is designed to be a […]

June 17, 2014

Roadbuilding

HTF update: DOT holds firm on August shortfall projection

The Highway Trust Fund (HTF) continues to head for a shortfall at the end of August, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) projected Tuesday. In the latest Highway Trust Fund Ticker update, the DOT noted that it anticipates a shortfall around Aug. 30. The Ticker, introduced in January, is updated every month with details about […]

June 17, 2014

Business

What World Cup host Brazil can teach the U.S. about ignoring infrastructure needs

In the search for morality tales about the consequences of inadequate investment in infrastructure, it would be hard to top the quagmire of Sao Paulo, Brazil’s largest city. In a recent article for the BBC, journalist Katia Moskvitch noted that the city’s traffic management agency described a rush hour traffic jam last May as a […]

June 16, 2014

Roadbuilding

HTF 101: How the Highway Trust Fund works

The Highway Trust Fund (HTF) is a major talking point in the highway construction industry right now, especially because the major funding source is likely to run out of money in less than three months. HTF insolvency would mean projects across the nation would not be able to begin and 700,000 workers would lose their […]

June 12, 2014

Business

Survey finds 68% of Americans want increased federal transportation funding, most willing to pay higher gas taxes

Two-thirds of Americans, or 68 percent, want the federal government to invest more in roads, bridges and mass transit systems, according to the results of a AAA survey released on Tuesday. Additionally, 5 percent of respondents said the federal government should invest less, while 24 percent want transportation spending levels to remain the same. The […]

June 12, 2014

Roadbuilding

Transportation advocates push for highway funding this week

Transportation advocates are flying to Washington, D.C. from all over the country to meet with lawmakers and discuss highway funding at the Transportation Construction Coalition’s (TCC) 2014 Legislative Fly-In on Tuesday and Wednesday. This year’s theme, “The Time is Now: Fix the Highway Trust Fund,” urges legislators to find a solution before the Highway Trust Fund […]

June 9, 2014

Roadbuilding

Opinion: Sinkholes and bridge closures, and how they relate to the highway fund shortage

Two news stories in particular have me thinking of what our nation will look like without a Highway Trust Fund fix. The first is a bridge closure in Delaware. According to an Associated Press report, officials closed a bridge near Wilmington because the support pillars are tilting by as much as 2.4 degrees. Engineers feared […]

June 6, 2014

Roadbuilding

Senate Appropriations panel approves $54.4 billion THUD bill; Legislation moves to full committee for markup

The Senate Appropriations Committee’s Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Subcommittee approved its Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development (THUD) bill on Tuesday, Politico reports. The bill provides $54.4 billion in discretionary funds for fiscal year 2015 and includes federal grants for highway and transit programs. “This bipartisan bill was written with input […]

June 4, 2014

Roadbuilding

Oklahoma Legislature cuts transportation budget by $28.5 million

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) will experience $28.5 million in cuts in its fiscal year 2015 budget, Tulsa World reports. The cuts amount to a 5.5-percent reduction — a loss of about $11 million in revenue from gas taxes. The total budget for 2015, which begins July 1, will be $1.8 billion. ODOT Executive […]

June 4, 2014

Business

Can cutting Postal Service spending save highway construction funding? House GOP moves forward with controversial plan

House Republican leaders are moving forward with a plan to fund the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) with savings from cutting certain U.S. Postal Service programs. House GOP leaders released a memo on Friday outlining the plan, which includes changes such as ceasing Saturday operations, which Republicans say will save $10.7 billion over a decade, Politico reports. A […]

June 4, 2014