Tag: highway funding: Page 38

Obama says no new gas tax, use tolls

Instead of raising the gas tax, which has not been raised in at least a decade, President Barack Obama says highway funding needs to come from tolls. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said a combination of current-level gas tax receipts, road and bridge tolling and President Obama’s proposed infrastructure fund could offer a way to fund […]

July 28, 2010

Missouri approves 5-year highway construction program

Missouri’s five-year highway construction program was approved July 1, 2010, by the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission, but it’s only one-third the size of the 2009 program. The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) says the funding is barely enough in funds to take care of the existing system. Missourians will see very few new projects […]

July 13, 2010

Competing visions emerge on highway trust fund

Jim Oberstar, chairman of the House Transportation Committee, announced today that he’d like to see a new, 6 year highway bill authorized this fall that provides 57 percent more money than the previous 6 year bill, SAFETEA-LU, which is set to expire in September. But….Ray LaHood, the new head of the Department of Transportation in […]

January 15, 2010

Do highways pay for themselves?

Not as much as they used to. A report out today from SubsidyScope notes that gas taxes account for for an increasingly smaller share of our roadbuilding funds while “non-user” taxes, bonds and other forms of revenue have steadily increased. A lot of the blame for this can be placed squarely on the failure of Congress […]

January 11, 2010

Higway trust fund almost broke…again

Declining gas tax receipts have left the federal highway trust fund some $8-billion to $12-billion short of the money it needs to meet its commitments to projects authorized through 2010. Last September Congress had to divert $8-billion from the general tax revenues to the highway fund just to keep it afloat. The shortfalls will make […]

January 11, 2010

Put on your battle gear–2,000th stimulus transportation project underway

Looks like things are moving along with the stimulus package and highway construction. But get ready for battle. President Barack Obama today announced funding for the 2,000th transportation project under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). But securing funding for these projects is apparently intense competition. Think The Ohio State University vs. University […]

January 11, 2010

LaHood: Letting states opt out of highway program ‘not best way forward’

Regardless mof whether the funding formula used to distribute federal highway money to states is unfair, I’m still not convinced that letting states opt out of participating in the federal highway program is a better solution…or one that even makes sense. (Disclaimer here: This is my own opinion, not that of Better Roads or any of the […]

January 11, 2010

Illinois Tollway Authority top exec steps down

Oops…they did it again! In arguably the biggest scandal since Illinois’ last governor, Republican George Ryan, went to jail for his “Licenses for Bribes” scandal, the federal corruption charges against Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich saga continues. Blago’s $1.8 billion “Tomorrow’s Transportation Today” tollway project is already under scrutiny as a “pay to play” deal (an […]

January 6, 2010

There are bigger concerns than one piece of legislation

In a recent phone call with Jeff Solsby, director of communications for the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA), I asked him about the proposed legislation by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), Texas’ senior senator. She has introduced legislation that will allow states to opt out of the federal highway program. Rather than receiving […]

January 6, 2010

TRIP report evaluating Wyoming road and bridge conditions released tomorrow

A new report that evaluates the current condition, use and funding of Wyoming’s highway transportation system will be released at a news conference in Cheyenne, Wy., at 10 a.m. MT on Thursday, Dec. 3. The report, “Future Mobility in Wyoming: Meeting the State’s Need for Safe and Efficient Mobility,” analyzes road and bridge conditions, traffic […]

December 2, 2009

Even with stimulus, some states being asked to tighten their belts

Looks like even with the stimulus, some states are going to have to tighten their belts when it comes to transportation funding. Doesn’t seem to make much sense, does it? I thought the stimulus was supposed provide MORE money to allow states to let projects that might not have otherise been funded. According to a […]

October 13, 2009

Financial District: Tell Them What They Need to Know…Not What they Want to Hear

The United States huge, and growing, deficit numbers are setting the tone for the construction industry and highway funding is the message from an industry forum.

October 1, 2009

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