Tag: Highway Trust Fund: Page 18

Roadbuilding

CBO estimates $85-$90 billion Highway Trust Fund shortfall by 2021

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), at the request of Rep. Sandy Levin (D-Michigan), has projected estimated revenue shortfalls for the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) for two short-tem extensions and one long-term extension, finding the fund will be short by $85-$90 billion in just six years. Levin, a member of the House Ways and Means committee, had […]

June 2, 2015

Roadbuilding

Obama signs 2-month extension for highway funding, calls for end of patches

President Barack Obama signed a two-month extension of the Highway Trust Fund into law May 29. According to a report from The Hill, Obama signed the bill to extend the funding, but the administration took time to call for an end to the constant patches for infrastructure funding. Press secretary Josh Ernest said the White House […]

June 1, 2015

Roadbuilding

Study finds more than 21% of Indiana’s bridges are deficient

A study has found that 21.5 percent of Indiana’s bridges are considered deficient. ABC 6 in Indianapolis reported in addition to 4,103 of the state’s bridges being deficient, 11.5 percent were considered functionally obsolete. Ten percent are structurally deficient. The state’s General Assembly sent $200 million to for transportation construction in the budget, but money from […]

June 1, 2015

Roadbuilding

Top FHWA official says unfinished Spokane project proves need for long-term highway bill

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s acting administrator toured the incomplete North Spokane Corridor last week and said the half-built project shows why the federal government needs to act on long-term transportation funding. After touring the NSC, Gergory Nadeau said the project “exemplifies exactly what has been happening all over the country.” About half of the […]

May 28, 2015

Roadbuilding

Bill would support Highway Trust Fund by adjusting Obamacare Medicaid match rates

A bill filed by Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Arkansas), would apply an estimated $15 billion each year to the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) by adjusting the percentage of Medicaid match funds required by the Affordable Care Act. The Prioritizing American Roads and Jobs Act of 2015 bill would apply half the “savings” to the HTF, with the other […]

May 27, 2015

Roadbuilding

Senate passes transportation funding patch

Over the weekend, the Senate passed a patch to extend transportation funding through July. In a Saturday voice vote just before the Senate broke for the Memorial Day holiday, Senators approved the patch to extend the Highway Trust Fund for two months, according to a report from The Hill. The Senate vote follows the passage of […]

May 26, 2015

Roadbuilding

Grass tax instead of gas tax for road funding? Michigan lawmaker calls to legalize “pot for potholes”

A lawmaker in Michigan thinks that marijuana could provide some relief for the state’s ailing roads. Rep. Brandon Dillon (D-Grand Rapids) wrote in an op-ed on MLive.com that Michigan voters have been adamant about not going deeper into their own pockets for funding on some issues—voters shot down a proposal to raise taxes for transportation […]

May 25, 2015

Roadbuilding

Nearly 450 bridges in Connecticut are structurally deficient

Connecticut’s 12 million daily drivers probably find themselves on a bridge that’s not exactly on par with construction standards. The state has 446 bridges considered to be structurally deficient, one out of every 9, according to documents obtained by WFSP in Hartford from Connecticut Department of Transportation records. The state’s DOT commissioner, Jim Redecker, said […]

May 25, 2015

Roadbuilding

National Public Works Week kicks off with “low and slow” infrastructure tour

Author Dan McNichol, who has driven a 1949 Hudson across the country to bring attention to road and bridge conditions, helped the American Public Works Association (APWA) kick off National Public Works Week with an appearance in Washington, D.C. at the city’s Public Works Fleet Campus. McNichol is driving the classic car from Brookline, Massachusetts to Los […]

May 21, 2015

Roadbuilding

House passes transportation funding patch

The U.S. House of Representatives has approved HR 2353, the Highway Transportation Funding Act of 2015 in a 387-35 vote. The bill, introduced by Congressmen Bill Shuster (R-Pennsylvania), Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chairman, and Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin), House Ways and Means Committee chairman, extends funding for the Highway Trust Fund until July 31 through a […]

May 20, 2015

Roadbuilding

Report finds current road, bridge conditions are impairing economic growth in rural areas

Research by The Road Improvement Program (TRIP) finds that 15 percent of major rural roads in the U.S. are in poor condition, and 1 in 10 rural bridges are functionally obsolete, conditions that “slow the pace of economic growth in rural America.” “America’s rural transportation network plays a key role in the success and quality of […]

May 20, 2015

Roadbuilding

Work on short-term transportation funding patches heats up as deadline nears

Efforts to create at least a short-term patch for transportation funding are in the works this week, with one bill, the Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2015 (HR 2353), set to go before the House of Representatives Rules Committee today (May 18). Congressmen Bill Shuster (R-Pennsylvania), Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chairman, and Paul Ryan […]

May 18, 2015