The American Association of State Highway and Transportation officials presents a weekly review of major transportation infrastructure events. Watch it here:
AASHTO Media Release
Statement by John Horsley, Executive Director, On Senate Approval the 30-Day Extension of Highway and Transit Programs
“We are pleased that the Senate has approved a 30-day extension of the nation’s critical highway and transit programs and that the President has moved swiftly to sign the measure into law. This action jump-starts hundreds of idled projects and puts thousands of workers back on the job at highway construction sites and several federal agencies.
“The bad news today, however, is that the uncertainty remains. This marks the fourth short-term extension of SAFETEA-LU, the highway and transit authorization act that expired on September 30, 2009. It is essential, therefore, that the House of Representatives quickly passes a separate Senate bill that would extend SAFETEA-LU through the end of this year and transfer funds to the highway trust fund to keep it solvent.
“Cash-strapped states that are struggling in this down economy can ill-afford to be subjected to continued month-by-month extensions and the risk of another shutdown. The ultimate goal is a multi-year bill, but, in the interim, we need to remember that we’re talking about real projects, real people, and real paychecks that circulate money throughout the economy. House passage of the Senate H.I.R.E bill will be the first step toward reassuring states that they can make the long-term commitments necessary to run their programs.”
AASHTO Media Release
Statement on the Impending Expiration of Federal Highway and Transit Programs by John Horsley, Executive Director
Because of the impending expiration of the Federal Highway and Transit Programs at midnight on March 1, the Federal Highway Administration will be required to suspend Federal-aid payments to the States. These federal reimbursements of funds already expended by the states amount to roughly $800 million a week. The Federal Transit Administration, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and Motor Carrier Safety Administration would also suspend payments. On Tuesday personnel of the FHWA, FMCSA parts of NHTSA will be sent home causing FHWA and FMCSA to shut down.
“We are deeply concerned about the severe impacts to state and local transportation programs of this disruption of the federal highway and transit programs,” said John Horsley, AASHTO executive director. “We commend Chairman Oberstar, Speaker Pelosi, and Majority Leader Reid for reaching an agreement that will enable the House to pass the Senate version of an extension of the highway and transit programs, with the understanding that a later legislative fix will revise how highway discretionary funds are to be distributed. We hope Congress can move this legislation as early in the week as possible so reimbursements to the states can resume.”
As the Senate debates the merits of a Jobs Bill, a new report — Projects and Paychecks: a One-Year Report on State Transportation Successes under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act — finds that more than 280,000 jobs were created and more than 12,250 transportation projects are underway as a result of the jobs bill signed into law one year ago.
AASHTO Press Release
Today as states await action on a jobs bill, the list of ‘ready-to-go’ state infrastructure projects has surpassed the 9,800 mark. These projects, valued at more than $79 billion, will give state departments of transportation the resources necessary to put hundreds of thousands of people back to work, on projects that will improve travel and boost the economy.
(Inside Lane editor’s note: The AASHTO list shows Colorado as having 100 such projects with a cumulative value of $1.4 billion.)
In 2009, the transportation sector received just 6 percent of economic recovery funds, yet spending on state highway, bridge, transit, port, rail, and aviation projects has accounted so far for more than 24 percent of the jobs created. According to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, at least 250,000 direct, on-projects jobs, as well as hundreds of thousands of indirect jobs, were the result of 7,900 highway and transit projects that have broken ground across the country.
“Since we first released our survey back in December 2009, states have identified 300 additional ‘ready-to-go’ projects that can be approved for funding within 120 days,” said John Horsley, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). “States continue to turn recovery dollars into real jobs and paychecks.”
In December, AASHTO officials were joined by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar (D-MN), and House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-OR) at a Capitol Hill news conference releasing the original state project survey.
Since then, the House of Representatives has approved the Jobs for Main Street Act of 2010, which would provide $37 billion for transportation projects – $27.5 billion for highway infrastructure projects, and $8.4 billion for public transportation. Based upon the record demonstrated under the Recovery Act, such funding could potentially create or support 1.1 million jobs.
“This survey illustrates the growing need for a significant investment in transportation infrastructure projects,” Horsley said. “The benefits are guaranteed and long lasting. Instead of the unemployment line, we’ll give hundreds of thousands of Americans the lifeline they need to stay in their homes, pay taxes, and rebuild our economy.”
You can find the updated survey online at http://downloads.transportation.org/Ready-to-Go.pdf.
The Dallas Morning News reports that Scott Brown’s election to the Senate is likely to result in a freeze in transportation funding for the next several years, in the opinion of AASHTO Executive Director John Horsley.
AASHTO is the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials, a powerful lobbying force for greater federal spending on highways, especially, and rail. Horsley said Brown’s election this month to succeed Sen. Edward Kennedy has prompted a seismic shift in the Capitol.
“The other shoe has finally hit,” said Horsley. “Deficit reduction and concern over debt is almost as powerful a dynamic now as stimulating and job creation has been. There will be another round of jobs creation legislation, but it will be followed shortly by a freeze in spending. It is my view that this will freeze it in its tracks the highway re-authorization bill.”
The federal legislation that authorizes highway spending expired last year, but has been extended by a series of temporary bills while Congress and the administration focused on other priorities. Without any funding changes, the federal gas taxes will fund about $250 billion in spending over a five-year bill. But Democrats in Congress – and a host of outside voices, too – have called for a big expansion of that program.
Statement on President Obama’s State of the Union Address
By John Horsley, Executive Director
American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
“President Obama continues to show his strong support for infrastructure investment to provide good-paying jobs for Americans and to rebuild the transportation foundation that supports our economy.
“It was truly fitting that Rhode Island contractor Enrico DiGregorio was in the audience for the State of the Union address. The owner of DiGregorio Construction tells AASHTO that were it not for the recovery-funded projects his company has been involved with in his home state, he would not have been able to retain his current 100 employees and hire the 30 additional workers he added to the payroll last year.”
“It’s a gratifying feeling to be able to tell someone they can come back to work,” DiGregorio said. “The tough job is telling people hungry for work that you can’t hire them. Stimulus dollars have created real jobs that are helping real people.” (See DiGregorio’s interview at www.transportationtv.org.)
“Like DiGregorio, we urge Congress to keep the momentum going and invest in America’s transportation system. States are ready. Currently states have identified almost 10,000 additional transportation projects at a value of $79 billion that are waiting for the green light, if additional funds are provided.
“Through projects like these, state transportation departments have clearly led the way in creating good-paying jobs quickly under the economic recovery act. We’re prepared to go back to work again to support the economy and our way of life.”
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The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is the “Voice of Transportation” representing State Departments of Transportation in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. AASHTO is a nonprofit, nonpartisan association serving as a catalyst for excellence in transportation.
AASHTO Press Release
(Washington, D.C.)-This week, the Associated Press released a flawed analysis of the results of the economic stimulus spending on roads and bridges.
Its authors overlooked the 210,000 direct on-project transportation jobs the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee determined were created by stimulus. And it argues that the 6,333 highway recovery projects under construction in America, valued at $15.2 billion, have had “no effect on local unemployment and only barely helped the beleaguered construction industry.”
The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) strongly disagrees. In Texas, for example American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding is providing nearly one-fourth of the $1 billion needed for the critical, 8.4 mile, Dallas-Fort Worth Connector project.
150 direct planning and engineering jobs, including designers, construction engineers, and oversight engineers and technicians, are now employed on the project and approximately 400 additional direct jobs will be added next month, when construction begins. Are these jobs insignificant? Won’t they help to reduce the local unemployment rate and support hundreds of other jobs as workers make purchases and pay down mortgages? This is just one of 6,333 examples.
In its report, the AP concluded that money for road construction offers little relief to most contractors because they don’t work on transportation projects. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood’s corrected that in his blog posting this week titled “AP Misses the Transportation Stimulus Jobs Forest for the Trees.”
Sec. LaHood states that the highway and road construction industry totals about 258,000 jobs nationwide. “When we drill down to the transportation construction industry, the most appropriate basis for analysis, we find Recovery Act spending making a real difference in people’s lives,” LaHood said.
The construction sector is beleaguered. However a through analysis of stimulus spending on roads and bridges makes the case for greater infrastructure investment, not less.
States have identified 9,500 ‘Ready to Go’ transportation projects worth almost $70 billion that, if funded, will put thousands of additional construction workers back on the job. Every single job counts and when you add it up, investing in roads and bridges makes good sense.
AASHTO Press Release
America’s Top Ten Transportation Topics for 2010
(Washington, D.C.) — As America enters a new decade, what will be the buzz about transportation? Clearly a safe, efficient, and viable transportation network should be at the forefront of issues facing policymakers at all levels of government and in all areas of our society in the coming months.
“In the year 2010, we’ll be seeing more job-creating construction zones on our highways, but we will still need a long-term solution to address everything from fixing potholes to making needed repairs to our aging infrastructure,” said Larry “Butch” Brown, president of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and executive director of the Mississippi Department of Transportation. “Even more critically for the long-term health of this nation, 2010 must also be about how smart we become at enabling goods and products to get from one point to another with speed and efficiency.”
Looking ahead, AASHTO has developed a list of the top ten transportation topics that it forecasts will be part of the national conversation in 2010 – in the media, in government and around the dinner table.
1) Adopting a long-term transportation funding bill
The current legislation that establishes funding levels and policy priorities for highways and transit expired on September 30, 2009. Since then, there have been four extensions – the most current being a short-term surface transportation authorization that will allow state departments of transportation to continue to use federal funds for highway, transit, and other projects until Feb. 28. Stop-gap extensions create difficulties for state departments of transportation since they cannot make long-term plans and commitments for more ambitious projects. In addition, without action by the Congress by March 1, state DOTs will lose $12 billion in 2010 for their highway programs. State DOTs need program continuity and stability through an extension of at least a year to adequately plan, execute and manage transportation capital programs.
2) Adopting a New Jobs Creation bill
The Senate is expected to begin debate on a jobs creation bill in mid-January. The House bill, Jobs for Main Street Act, contains several important transportation provisions including an extension of surface transportation authorization through Sept. 30, 2010. Funding would include $27.5 billion for highways and $8.4 billion for mass transit; Amtrak would receive $800 million while airports would get $500 million and shipyards $100 million. States have identified more than 9,500 ready-to-go projects that can fund projects quickly and put people to work. A jobs bill will enable states to build on last year’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) projects and keep the momentum going.
3) Deterring Distracted Driving
Nearly 6,000 people lost their lives in motor vehicle crashes involving some form of driver distraction during 2008. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia prohibit drivers from text messaging while driving; 12 of those laws passed in 2009. Florida and Kentucky have already pre-filed texting ban bills for the 2010 legislative session, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. President Obama has banned texting by federal government employees while on official business or using government property and AASHTO has passed a resolution encouraging employers and state departments of transportation to enact similar bans. The year ahead will offer more public information campaigns and driver education, more sanctions and additional research to determine the extent of the problem, whether hands-free devices are an effective solution, and whether effective enforcement strategies can be developed and/or implemented. See http://safety.transportation.org for information.
4) Ensuring Safer Roads
In Spring 2010, AASHTO will publish the Highway Safety Manual. This manual will assist highway agencies as they consider improvements to existing roadways or as they are planning, designing, or constructing new roadways. AASHTO is working with the Federal Highway Administration and the Transportation Research Board to develop training, information sessions and other implementation tools that will be made available to states and others in the highway industry. AASHTO’s goal: cut today’s 38,000 highway fatalities 50 percent in 20 years.
5) Moving on High-Speed Rail Grants
Early in 2010, a new era in U.S. intercity passenger rail service will be launched with the announcement of $8 billion in ARRA grants for state projects to initiate or improve high-speed and intercity passenger rail service. Later in the year an additional $2.5 billion will be awarded through the State Capital Grants Program of the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act to carry out President Obama’s strategy for passenger rail. http://www.aashtojournal.org/Pages/110609transit.aspx
6) Taking Action to Address Climate Change
With autos and light-duty trucks contributing approximately 17 percent of the greenhouse gases (GHG) in the United States, state and local governments are developing climate change action plans and looking at the best ways to reduce emissions through technology, research, smarter travel, better cars and fuels, and improved efficiency and operation of our roads. In the year ahead, Congress will address this issue in both climate change and transportation authorization legislation. AASHTO’s Climate Change Steering Committee is working to provide technical expertise and assistance to state DOTs to reduce GHG emissions. http://realsolutions.transportation.org/Pages/default.aspx
7) Responding to Increased Congestion Due to Capacity Issues
In 2008, high gas prices drove thousands of commuters from their cars and onto buses, subways and other transit options. As gas prices moderated, however, many of these riders went back to their vehicles. In fact, despite the economic downturn, 64 of the 100 most populated cities saw increased congestion in the first six months of 2009. This congestion will only continue to worsen as more people move to metropolitan areas and little is done to increase the capacity of the overall transportation system. In early 2010, AASHTO will issue a new report that outlines a four-point plan to address the urban mobility challenge. Other reports on the transportation needs of rural and underserved areas as well as freight will follow.
Adopting Social Media to Provide the Latest Traffic and Travel Information
Eighty percent of state departments of transportation are now using Twitter as well as an array of other “social media” to release information on traffic incidents, road closings, weather emergencies and other transportation-related information. Thousands of travelers have signed up to use this service. In Mississippi, Twitter sites have been set up to guide drivers through hurricane evacuations. Other media being accessed by states to educate their publics include Facebook, weekly news webchannels, podcasts and RSS feeds to spread their message. States are encouraging the use of these media “before they go” to avoid distracted driving.
9) Enhancing Safety through Roadway Improvements
On two-lane rural roads and major highways, rumble strips are now being installed to warn drivers when their vehicles start to leave the travel lane. On divided highways, cable median barriers are being installed to prevent fatal crashes in which vehicles run off the road into the median and cross over into oncoming traffic. With more than half of the highway fatalities occurring on rural roads, highway agencies are focusing on installing these types of lower-cost treatments to reduce these crashes. As additional studies are performed to demonstrate the effectiveness of these treatments, they will be installed on more roads across the country.
10) Creating more livable communities
The Administration has made livable communities a key aspect of their agenda. In June of 2009, EPA, HUD and USDOT entered into a Sustainable Communities Partnership to help improve access to affordable housing, provide more transportation options, and lower transportation costs while protecting the environment in communities nationwide. Efforts by state DOTs in the coming year will include building transportation enhancement projects such as bikeways, pedestrian walkways, historic restoration and beautification projects; improving metropolitan mobility; ensuring more transit services are available in rural areas and to serve aging populations; and adding capacity to our transportation network to reduce congestion and the amount of time commuters, truckers and other drivers are stuck in traffic and so have more time with their families.
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The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is the “Voice of Transportation” representing State Departments of Transportation in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. AASHTO is a nonprofit, nonpartisan association serving as a catalyst for excellence in transportation.
AASHTO Press Release
State departments of transportation are acting quickly to boost the economy and are delivering jobs and large, complex multi-million dollar projects across the country, according to Oklahoma DOT Secretary Gary Ridley, who testified today on behalf of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). At a hearing before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Ridley said that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) has been an unequivocal success.
“More than 5,400 highway and bridge projects valued at $14 billion are under construction in every part of the country,” Ridley said, citing newly released reports from the Federal Highway Administration that found that almost 80 percent, or more than $21 billion, of the ARRA funds set aside for transportation projects have gone through the federal approval process and are proceeding to construction. In his home state of Oklahoma, Ridley said 90 percent of the highways funds have been obligated to projects and 83 percent are already under construction. “We have moved much faster than the law required,” Ridley said. He attributed the successful implementation of ARRA to early planning and enhanced transparency, accountability, and oversight requirements, including an intensive risk management strategy.
Ridley noted that not all ARRA projects are small in scope. He testified that states have used ARRA funds for a number of large, complex multi-million dollar projects. Oklahoma is using ARRA funds as part of a $70+ million improvement project on Interstate 244 in downtown Tulsa. The project required closure of the Interstate to facilitate pavement replacement and the replacement of approximately 40 bridges. Overall, Ridley said that in the nearly 10 months since enactment of ARRA, the Oklahoma DOT has paid out more than $240 million to construction contractors.
Ridley said states are encouraged that President Obama is ready to endorse additional funding to “continue modernizing our transportation network as one means to accelerate job growth.” The state departments of transportation have identified an additional 9,500 projects valued at $70 billion that could be quickly advanced, creating and sustaining thousands of jobs across rural and urban areas in all states. In closing, Ridley also urged Congress to take timely action to develop “a growing, consistent, long-term federal investment strategy that identifies and considers all possible revenue sources.”
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