Tag: infrastructure funding: Page 27

Roadbuilding

North Carolina bill proposes gas tax increase for road construction funding

North Carolina Senate bill S20, passed February 12, would increase the minimum motor fuel excise tax by 67 percent, while raising the wholesale tax to 9.9 percent from 7 percent. The bill has been sent to House members for review and vote as bill H40. Under Part II: Motor Fuel Tax Changes, Section 2.1, the motor fuel excise […]

February 18, 2015

Roadbuilding

The 3 things needed right now to repair our nation’s bridges, according to 12 DOTs

The nation’s infrastructure system can be likened to an economic circulatory system – giving us freedom, opportunity and mobility—and this should not be taken for granted, said former Kansas Gov. Bill Graves during a recent infrastructure conference. “We should never undervalue the greatness and freedom our nation’s roads provide,” says Graves, now president and CEO […]

February 17, 2015

Roadbuilding

Maryland DOT orders bridge inspections in response to overpass dropping debris into traffic

Acting Maryland Transportation Secretary Pete Rahn has ordered the State Highway Administration (SHA) and the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) to inspect all state-owned bridges of the same age and condition as the Capital Beltway I-495/I-95 bridge. The bridge dropped debris on a motorist recently though no one was injured in the incident. The department says the order applies to […]

February 15, 2015

Roadbuilding

DOT Chief Foxx touring 5 states to promote $478 billion Grow America Act

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx will wind his way through Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia on a four-day bus tour to promote the Obama administration’s Grow America Act. The tour begins February 17. The tour will come almost a week after his presentation at the first hearing of the year on the Surface Transportation Reauthorization Bill […]

February 12, 2015

Roadbuilding

Bill introduced to SC House seeks to increase gas tax while another wants to halt all road construction for 5 years

Members of the South Carolina House of Representatives have filed two bills with very different agendas. If either were to become law, it would have a huge impact on road construction in the state. In section 5 of House Bill 3579, introduced Wednesday, includes language that would not allow new road construction until July 1, 2020. “This section must […]

February 12, 2015

Roadbuilding

Deteriorating bridge drops debris on passing motorist in Maryland

In another example of how the nation’s bridges are suffering from reduced maintenance due to limited highway funding, portions of an overpass fell on a woman’s car February 10 near Morningside, Maryland, according to a report from Maryland TV station WUSA-9. Motorist Katherine Deane received the worst of the damage, the station reported, with her windshield being smashed by “a […]

February 11, 2015

Roadbuilding

Sanders says his $1 trillion infrastructure bill would cost less than Iraq War

Sen. Bernie Sanders says his 5-year $1 trillion infrastructure bill would cost less than the estimated cost of the “Bush/Cheney Iraq War”, according to a report from The Hill. In a speech at the Brookings Institution in Washington, the independent senator from Vermont said estimates of the total cost of the war “will total $3 […]

February 10, 2015

Roadbuilding

Texas DOT saves nearly $1 billion over next decade through historic bond deal

The Texas Department of Transportation recently announced that it had achieved the largest savings on a single bond deal in the state’s history through a $1.68 billion refinancing that priced Jan. 21. The bond issue refinanced almost all of the outstanding debt for the Central Texas Turnpike System (CTTS), first issued in 2002. The deal […]

February 9, 2015

Roadbuilding

Obama proposes 6-year, $478 billion highway bill; industry groups voice support

As part of his new, $3.99 trillion budget released Monday, President Barack Obama has proposed $478 billion to fund the country’s transportation and infrastructure work over the next six years. Instead of raising the federal gas tax, Obama’s proposal would be paid for with money generated by a one-time tax holiday for companies with overseas investments. […]

February 2, 2015

Roadbuilding

Tolls impede the American spirit of the open road

Jack Kerouac would weep, were he alive today. The author famous for making road trips a rite of passage would be shocked to find how tolls, tickets and traffic fines are being used as revenue enhancement schemes and an extension of the American surveillance state. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Drug Enforcement Administration […]

February 1, 2015

Roadbuilding

Sens. Paul and Boxer reach across the aisle, propose corporate tax holiday to boost infrastructure funding

Senators Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) have proposed a corporate tax holiday to fund U.S. infrastructure projects. The proposal would give businesses a reprieve from penalties for avoiding prior taxes if they agree to move money back to the U.S. and pay a 6.5 percent rate on it. The money collected would then […]

February 1, 2015

Roadbuilding

Astec’s Ben Brock: “Best shot we’ve had in 10 years” to get out of highway funding dead end

All the talk about the upcoming highway bill reauthorization—now in an extension until May—had a familiar ring to Ben Brock, president and CEO, Astec Industries. “I’ve been around this industry all of my life and I was starting to hear the same stories,” he told me during a break at the National Asphalt Pavement Association […]

January 30, 2015