Author Archive
This Week in Infrastructure: Infrastructure Week Delivers on its Name
May 16th, 2014 | By: Becky Moylan
Infrastructure Week lived up to its name! In addition to the events marking the occasion and furthering the conversation on emerging solutions, innovative approaches and best practices, President Obama, Vice President Biden, Secretary of Transportation Foxx and Congress all spoke over the past few days on the need for investment. On Wednesday, President Obama took his message to the Tappan Zee Bridge, a major thruway for New Yorkers, highlighting his plan to get projects moving faster while remaining on budget. Meanwhile, in Cleveland against the backdrop of a rail car repair shop, Vice President Biden shared a similar plea, citing the Infrastructure Report Card’s estimate that the U.S. needs to invest $3.6 trillion by 2020 to get our nation’s infrastructure GPA up to a B. Secretary Foxx also warned of the perils of inaction regarding the Highway Trust Fund, saying “We cannot meet the needs of a growing country and a growing economy by simply maintaining our current level of effort.” The remarks from the administration did not fall on deaf ears, as Chairman Boxer and Sen. Vitter released a bipartisan bill to authorize six years of highway and transit programs on Monday that passed out of the Environment & Public Works Committee on Thursday. Could infrastructure be the new political buzzword? Or will congressional gridlock derail it? Hopefully the trend continues into action, as failure to act comes at a high cost of its own, including a loss of as many as 700,000 jobs. As The Baltimore Sun points out, a short-term bailout “defeats the purpose of the trust fund.” It is time for a reliable funding mechanism that will pave the way to a Highway Trust Fund equipped with 2014 dollars, rather than 1993 ones. The Highway Trust Fund and transportation-based infrastructure, however, were not the only sectors getting attention during Infrastructure Week. The details of WRRDA were agreed upon and the bill will be sent to the President for his signature next week. Secretary Foxx also honored the Champions of Change in Transportation, reminding us that improving infrastructure, fixing the Highway Trust Fund and passing legislation like WRRDA is ultimately about helping people. These 11 individuals each offer innovative solutions to improve transportation in their communities and exemplify the great work that can help improve citizens’ lives through transportation projects. Hope you all had a great Infrastructure Week, too!Tags: congress, highway trust fund, Infrastructure Week, transportation, wrrda
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This Week in Infrastructure: Finding Funding for the Highway Trust Fund
May 9th, 2014 | By: Becky Moylan
The Senate Finance Committee held a hearing this week on “new routes for funding and financing highways and transit.” This effort included warnings from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) that $13 to $18 billion will be needed each year to maintain the current funding levels the Highway Trust Fund provides. Sen. Boxer (D-CA) responded with a promise to have her bill out next week. As elected officials continue to explore options and offer solutions, including a proposed change to the TIGER Grant program, warnings continue of what is at stake. (Spoiler alert: it’s a lot.) This issue affects all Americans and it’s a ‘toll’ we’re all paying for in one way or another. So how exactly did we get here? Vox has an explanation in six charts. This week also saw some discussion on raising the gas tax (from the media, not so much from politicians) including CNBC, CNN Money and Al Jazeera America. The Washington Post offers a great explanation of how inflation, not efficiency, has led us to this transportation funding cliff. And the discussion of tolls as a funding mechanism continued from last week, an option that may be more appealing to Congress during an election year. Discussion is vital, but we need continued leadership and action to secure a reliable funding mechanism. As states, including Oregon, brace for transportation projects without federal funding dollars from the Highway Trust Fund it is time to #FixtheTrustFund.Tags: congress, highway trust fund, roads, TIGER Grants
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This Week in Infrastructure: White House offers bill to GROW AMERICA
May 2nd, 2014 | By: Becky Moylan
Congress is back in session, but it was not a member of the legislative branch who introduced legislation to fund transportation projects. Instead, the U.S. DOT and President Obama followed up on a promise from earlier this year to propose a $302 billion transportation budget, titled GROW AMERICA (which stands for Generating Renewal, Opportunity, and Work with Accelerated Mobility, Efficiency, and Rebuilding of Infrastructure and Communities throughout America). Don’t worry, you won’t be tested on the anagram at the end of this post. However, despite a step toward a possible funding option for the Highway Trust Fund, to guarantee it doesn’t become insolvent during the height of summer road construction, Time suspects you didn’t even hear about it. There was some coverage, but it was not splashed across the top of news websites, nor did it get a breaking news app push notification or email (at least not from any I use. If yours did let me know and I will gladly convert). Most notable to the news media was the administration’s proposed shift in current law regarding tolls on interstate freeways. It is an alternative to raising the gas tax that will offer additional revenue, though the law makes it an option for states, rather than a federal mandate. So could the GROW Act be the answer to preventing Washington’s next cliff? Or will Congress put a pothole in its path to better transportation? Several states, including Iowa and Utah, continue to fear the Highway Trust Fund’s insolvency. And a Nevada paper urged that the country needs a plan. Both Rep. Dina Titus and Rep. Bill Shuster wrote in Roll Call this week about the importance of maintaining our infrastructure. It is time to transform these words into actions to #FixtheTrustFund.Tags: congress, gas tax, GROW Act, GROW AMERICA Act, highway trust fund, infrastructure, Tolls, White House
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This Week in Infrastructure: If not now, when?
April 25th, 2014 | By: Becky Moylan
“It is time to fix our roads and bridges,” House Public Works and Highways Committee Chairman Rep. David Campbell, D-Nashua, [New Hampshire,] said. “If not 4.2 cents, what amount? If not today, when?” With those words of encouragement and a vote, New Hampshire’s legislative branch sent a bill to Gov. Maggie Hassan raising the Gas Tax by 4.2 cents. The governor has said she would sign the bill. Rep. Campbell’s words are ones that apply not only in New Hampshire, but across the country. Finding funding, making the decision to invest, is a slow going process, but the Highway Trust Fund’s clock is ticking. Michigan Governor Rick Snyder also applauded “constructive” strides this week in road funding legislation for his state. States taking positive steps is promising, but without a sustainable funding mechanism for the Highway Trust Fund, will it be enough? The Tennessee DOT commissioner warned this week that the shrinking federal funds will significantly hurt the state’s transportation. In addition to concerns, there were also suggested solutions. One came from U.S. Sen. Carper of Delaware, who discussed his proposal to ensure the Highway Trust Fund keeps up with current and future needs, by raising the tax gas and eventually tying it to inflation. Rep. Bill Shuster, while not outlining a plan, also discussed the importance of fixing the Highway Trust Fund at an event in his home state of Pennsylvania. Interested in a few more reasons that it’s time to #FixtheTrustFund? Gaebler.com, The Atlantic Cities and Bloomberg all offer excellent viewpoints on the topic. As ASCE President Randy Over said “We’re at a critical crossroads.” So if not now, when?Tags: gas tax, highway trust fund, infrastructure, transportation
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This Week in Infrastructure: Highway Trust Fund Gets Media Attention
April 18th, 2014 | By: Becky Moylan
On a typical day, a Google news search for the Highway Trust Fund over the past 24 hours results in a page or two of results. But this week Wednesday, the search query garnered nine pages of hits, and the option to “explore in depth” 166 articles. What did these articles say? And why does it matter? Well, the articles report what those following closely already knew: Congress is giving states the transportation blues. Less reported, while perhaps more newsworthy for the people who specifically seek out the Highway Trust Fund in the news, the USDOT announced its latest projections on when the money will run short, currently predicted as the end of July. This latest warning comes as Transportation Secretary Foxx bus tours across eight states, raising awareness of what he refers to as “clearly a crisis.” Several states progressed with transportation project legislation this week including Connecticut, Massachusetts and Virginia, but without reliable funding for the Highway Trust Fund, it’s unclear how realistic these proposals are. Many cities are considering public-private partnerships (P3s) as an alternative. As the president emeritus of Harvard wrote this week “now is the time” to find the funding and rebuild our nation’s infrastructure. A great first step to do that is to fix the Trust Fund.Tags: congress, highway trust fund, infrastructure, P3
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This Week in Infrastructure: Reasons to Keep Advocating for Investment
April 11th, 2014 | By: Becky Moylan
The Opinion Pages of The New York Times presented a series of reasons “We Should Be in a Rage” and among them were—you guessed it—because of the state of our nation’s infrastructure. These grievances, along with suggestions and productive dialogue to change it, appeared in print across the country this week. In Mississippi, one writer named legislators’ neglect as the reason for low grades, and given that the state legislature once again passed on increasing the state gas tax, the frustration is understandable. For, as the Mayor of San Diego demonstrated, improving infrastructure takes time and money. Infrastructure provides a better quality of life, and as the decision-makers continue to appreciate its significance, new ideas for funding are being implemented. The desire to have long-term plans is also a promising development, especially as it could help combat the issues many states—including Oregon and Wisconsin—are currently facing. The watershed law Pennsylvania enacted last fall is proving the value of a strong transportation bill. Such legislation is unfortunately still often only discussed and debated and not enacted, including this week in Illinois and Indiana. New transportation legislation is also currently just a goal at the federal level. However, on Thursday Sen. Boxer and fellow senators announced the Environment and Public Works Committee’s commitment to a six-year bill to replace MAP-21, the current law authorizing the Highway Trust Fund. While only the start of a long process, this at least means state DOTs can rest a little easier, and continue with transportation projects and the jobs that come with them.Tags: congress, highway trust fund, infrastructure, MAP-21, P3
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This Week in Infrastructure: Continued Cause to Fix the Trust Fund
April 4th, 2014 | By: Becky Moylan
This pothole season is one of the worst in recent memory, thanks to the particularly harsh winter. The freezing, thawing, plowing and salting certainly did not help the D grade roads received in the 2013 Report Card. In the hard-hit Midwestern states, the hope of filled-in potholes and more funding for roads is a daily conversation. This harsh winter was not just frustrating for drivers, it was also untimely as the Highway Trust Fund continues to run out of money, with one estimate now as early as July 1. One blogger referred to it as a “triple layer cake of crisis.” And while referencing cake may seem to sugarcoat it, he certainly did not as he outlined the trebly broken system. Nor did Deputy Secretary of Vermont Department of Transportation Sue Minter, who testified in Congress this week on the impact the impending shortfall would have on states. The New York Times presented the view of prominent companies that see the value in more road funding, and prefer an increased gas tax to tolls. A Huffington Post blogger also called on Congress to act on the Highway Trust Fund focusing on its impact on mass transit riders. As Minter said, state DOTs are being put in a precarious position, exemplified in the search for funding for the Brent Spence Bridge that connects Ohio and Kentucky. This bridge is a vital link between two communities, and leads to a larger discussion about bridge safety across the country, as one in nine of our nation’s bridges are structurally deficient. If you’re interested in learning more about the Highway Trust Fund’s funding concerns, AASHTO put together an excellent resource, “Nations at a Crossroads,” and you can find a list of valuable data sources here.Tags: highway trust fund, Mass Transit, Potholes
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This Week in Infrastructure: The High Cost of Insufficient Funding
March 28th, 2014 | By: Becky Moylan
On Tuesday, TRIP issued a report on the condition of North Carolina’s roads, bridges and traffic conditions. The bottom line: traffic is bad and the poor condition of roads costly. As the 2013 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure shows us, this TRIP report, along with one released this week in Minnesota, is a microcosm of the state of our nation’s roads, bridges and infrastructure as a whole. While former Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood predicts a short-term extension of MAP-21, states are making other plans as the Highway Trust Fund’s money dwindles. For example, in Nebraska, a bill allowing bond financing for road projects pushed through a filibuster to advance the bill. A Rhode Islander considered an infrastructure bank as a way to provide funding. Similarly, Secretary of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, Mike Hancock, wrote “the real issue is not whether drivers want to pay tolls; it’s whether drivers want to keep paying the price of lost time, lost productivity and daily highway hazards with the corridor as it is,” as explanation for why Kentucky and Ohio need new funding tools and a fix for the Trust Fund. Pleads to fix the Trust Fund did not end there. A south Florida mayor visited Washington to ask for funding. The Georgia DOT prepared motorists for a continued bumpy ride because of the lack of funding to repair the Dawsonville Highway bridge and the state’s Chamber urged congressional action in response, along with 30 other states’ Chambers of Commerce. The National Lieutenant Governors Association also asked Congress to take action in a unanimous, bipartisan resolution. And even members of the Canadian government are asking Congress for highway funding. A California columnist noted “Sadly, America’s crumbling infrastructure is like the weather: Everyone complains, but nobody does anything about it.” Here’s hoping the states above get what they asked for and that sentiment doesn’t ring true much longer. There’s no free ride on infrastructure. The North Carolina and Minnesota TRIP reports prove it, as does everyone’s unique but shared experience of traffic during a commute.Tags: highway trust fund, MAP-21, TRIP
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This Week in Infrastructure: One Year Anniversary of the Report Card
March 21st, 2014 | By: Becky Moylan
One year ago this week, we released our 2013 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure. Our nation’s D+ infrastructure grade is an important piece of data to share as we advocate for infrastructure investment, especially as the United States approaches the Highway Trust Fund’s financial cliff later this year. Over the past year, ASCE and the Report Card have had more than 16,000 media mentions, a majority of which discuss the findings of the Report Card, including the grades of 16 infrastructure sectors covered in the Report Card and the $3.6 trillion investment needed by 2020. We are proud that nearly every day the hard work of our Report Card Committee members earns the attention of the media and the public. To celebrate a successful year of coverage and meaningful conversations here is a compilation of a few of our favorite media mentions. Daily Rundown Colbert Report Washington Post Huffington Post live New York Times NPR Fast CompanyTags: highway trust fund, infrastructure report card
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This Week in Infrastructure: Some Attention for the Highway Trust Fund
March 14th, 2014 | By: Becky Moylan
The USDOT now anticipates the Highway Trust Fund balance will dip below $4 billion by July, in the heat of summer road repair season. As the fund continues to decline, the DOT will be slowing its funding programs, limiting the funding dollars states rely upon to help pay for projects though matching dollars. This week Arkansas announced 10 projects will not move forward in anticipation that the federal matching funds won’t be available, and Georgia shared similar concerns. The financial cliff the Highway Trust Fund is moving toward won’t just impact roads and bridges. Despite what the name might suggest, it also funds mass transit, which Americans are frequenting more than in the past few years, according to research the American Public Transportation Association shared this week. Finding the funding to fix the Trust Fund is obviously at the crux of the debate. In a Colorado paper, the editorial board reminds readers “there is a cost to letting our highways turn to rust and dust” and that communal investment in infrastructure is better than the alternative, which is individual investment in vehicle maintenance and the cost of time spent in traffic. After the winter we’ve seen, vehicle maintenance is certainly a concern because potholes have been problematic enough that Michigan (a particularly hard-hit state, but likely not alone in this) predicts the process to fill them will last until June. New Jersey is even considering a raise in the gas tax specifically to fund pothole repairs. If Congress was looking for a metaphor for the current state of the Highway Trust Fund, or yet another reason to act, then stories like these lend themselves nicely. Similarly, the tragic explosion in New York highlighted the need for investment, just days after a report estimated the city needs $43.7 billion to bring the quality of its infrastructure to a respectable level. Rolling Stone is even advocating for infrastructure investment, as it lists crumbling water pipes and roads as one reason America is like a third-world country, echoing Joe Biden’s remarks last month. As the Highway Trust Fund’s numbers continue going in the wrong direction, at least the awareness of the issue increases. Hopefully, getting attention is the first step in fixing the Trust Fund.
