Tag: transportation funding: Page 53

Roadbuilding

Closer to E than F and heading for B

Let’s say you are rolling down the highway and watching the gas gauge on your dashboard as you go. You see it steadily going down. You are aware that it is heading to E. You roll on. It gets inevitably closer to E. You know if you don’t stop and fill up it will hit […]

August 1, 2013

Roadbuilding

Despite stimulus, U.S. transportation system continues to deteriorate

Despite an “influx of stimulus money” dedicated to improving the transportation system in the U.S., more of the nation’s bridges and roads were in poor condition in 2011 than in 2008, according to a report from the USA Today. It’s no secret that the U.S. transportation system isn’t getting the funding it needs on local, […]

July 30, 2013

Roadbuilding

Texas Two-Step: D.C. reauthorization first, then Austin

As we begin to close in on the fall 2014 date for the reauthorization of federal surface transportation legislation in Washington, keep in mind that states have to do their own transportation legislation. And like D.C. politicians, Austin politicians face the continuing dilemma of not having enough money coming down the pike. Take Texas for […]

July 30, 2013

Roadbuilding

Texas lawmakers agree to tap Rainy Day Fund for transportation

Texas’ House and Senate reached an agreement on Friday to increase road and bridge funding in the state, according to a report from The News & Observer and the Associated Press. Senator Robert Nichols (R-Texas) authored the measure that would divert an estimated $848 million in oil and gas taxes from the state’s Rainy Day […]

July 29, 2013

Roadbuilding

Guest Blog: A new deal

With the housing market showing signs of new life and public infrastructure spending high on the agenda, it’s possible to believe that the long, nuclear winter of recession in road-building may just be drawing to an end. In May, monthly home sales hit their highest level since July 2008. According to a Standard & Poor […]

July 29, 2013

Roadbuilding

Transportation Infrastructure Funding: Efficiency is necessary but not sufficient

It’s a case of on the one hand/on the other hand. New Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx is saying that his department is “working to improve the efficiency and performance of our existing transportation system” and is “doing so in an era when we must work harder than ever to stretch our transportation dollar.” He […]

July 26, 2013

Roadbuilding

Senate passes bridge-prioritizing amendment to DOT, HUD spending bill

The Senate on Wednesday passed an amendment to its proposed $54 billion transportation and housing spending bill, prioritizing bridge projects, according to a report from The Hill. Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) authored the amendment, which he said would prioritize bridges deemed “structurally obsolete” or “deficient,” allowing those bridges to be fixed before others. “We all […]

July 25, 2013

Roadbuilding

White House “strongly supports” Senate DOT, HUD spending bill

The White House said on Tuesday that President Obama “strongly supports” the $54 billion budget for the Departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development that the Senate is considering, according to a report from The Hill. The announcement follows a White House statement on Monday that President Obama’s “senior advisors would recommend that he […]

July 24, 2013

Roadbuilding

White House threatens to veto House’s $44.1 billion DOT, HUD bill

The White House threatened on Monday to veto a $44.1 billion budget for the Departments of Transportation (DOT) and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that the House is considering, according to a report from The Hill. The THUD bill calls for $7.7 billion less than the current spending levels, cuts which the White House said […]

July 23, 2013

Roadbuilding

Transportation spending bill passes Texas House, moves to Senate

The Texas House on Thursday voted to pass a bill that would raise about $800 million in transportation funding, moving the legislation to the state Senate, according to a report from the Texas Tribune. The bill, House Joint Resolution 2 (HJR2), would remove a constitutional requirement that a quarter of the state’s gasoline taxes go […]

July 19, 2013

Roadbuilding

House Rules Committee to approve rule for transportation, housing spending

The House Rules Committee is scheduled to meet Wednesday to approve a rule for the 2014 transportation and housing spending bill, according to a report from The Hill. The rule could mean the bill, H.R. 2610, will be considered by the House sometime this month. The legislation proposes a $44.1 billion budget for the departments […]

July 16, 2013

Roadbuilding

New tolls on old interstates? Almost unthinkable.

The issue of tolling existing interstates isn’t going away. It’s not popular and it’s down in the “slim and none” chances category in most analyses. But with highway funding hopelessly inadequate and no new source on the short-term horizon, this issue will linger. It will raise its head as MAP-21 winds down and heads into […]

July 16, 2013