Tag: HTF: Page 13

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

Roadbuilding

Ayotte forwards tax reform bill to create Strengthening America’s Bridges Fund

Amidst the seemingly flurry of bills being introduced ahead of the looming May 31 end to the revenue stream for the Highway Trust Fund, yet another senator has proposed a transportation funding option. This one focuses on funding bridge projects by amending the tax code regarding the Additional Child Tax Credit. Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-New […]

May 15, 2015

Roadbuilding

Senate to begin work on long-term highway bill, but not until current funding has expired

The Senate will hold a hearing on a new long-term transportation bill, but it’s not going to be on the agenda until after the impending expiration of the Highway Trust Fund. Sens. Jim Inhofe (R-Oklahoma) and Barbara Boxer (D-California) announced Wednesday that the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee would mark-up a bipartisan, six-year surface […]

May 14, 2015

Roadbuilding

Lack of federal highway funding solution puts 131 Arkansas projects in jeopardy

More than 100 Arkansas road and bridge construction projects could be in jeopardy if Congress doesn’t extend federal transportation funding. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported 131 federally funded projects totaling $1.5 billion would be halted indefinitely if lawmakers don’t pass an extension to the Highway Trust Fund or new infrastructure funding. Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department director Scott […]

May 14, 2015

Roadbuilding

Build USA Act would create American Infrastructure Bank for transportation funding

Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Nebraska) has introduced the Build USA Act, a bill aimed at creating an American Infrastructure Bank (AIB) to provide methods for funding transportation projects for states. Fischer, who is chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety and Security, was involved in similar legislation when she was […]

May 13, 2015

Roadbuilding

Foxx: USDOT will need its own LeBron James to secure a fix for highway funding

America may have cast aside monarchy long ago, but maybe only a king would be able to take on transportation funding. Well, a king on the court, that is. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said Congress needs someone like NBA all-star LeBron James to step up before the Highway Trust Fund expires at the end of […]

May 13, 2015

Roadbuilding

California DOT: State needs $5.7 billion more each year to maintain roads

California’s budget falls short on road funding to the tune of about $5.7 billion each year, according to the state’s Department of Transportation. A Caltrans report said the department needs $8 billion annually over the next 10 years to pay for the management and improvement goals set for the state’s infrastructure. But the state only […]

May 13, 2015

Roadbuilding

Report finds voting for, or against, gas tax increases has little impact on state legislator re-election

An analysis by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) shows members of neither the Republican or Democratic parties have been negatively impacted politically after voting for a gas tax increase used for funding transportation projects. ARTBA’s Transportation Investment Advocacy Center (TIAC) reviewed voting patterns of legislators in seven states during the last election cycle […]

May 13, 2015