The Highway Trust Fund Needs Fixing – New Report Looks at a VMT Tax
October 23, 2019
By 2022, the Highway Trust Fund (HTF), the main funding source for the federal government’s investments in highway and transit infrastructure and primarily funded by the federal motor fuels tax, is set to dry up. In anticipation of this, Congress is looking at long-term solutions to fund our surface transportation systems. One of those proposed......
Freight Movement Is On the Rise, So America’s Infrastructure Must Hold Its Weight
October 10, 2019
The national transportation and research group TRIP released a new report on October 3, 2019 detailing an expected 104% rise in annual freight transportation across the U.S. from 2016 to 2045. This increase in freight movement breeds challenges to the nation’s already aging infrastructure. The report, “America’s Rolling Warehouses: Opportunities And Challenges With The Nation’s......
Big Travel Weekend Coincides with New Traffic Report
August 29, 2019
This weekend marks the last (unofficial) weekend of summer, and with the long weekend just hours away, people across the country will be hitting the road. Another holiday means more holiday traffic, which shines a spotlight on the need to improve our transportation infrastructure. According to the travel industry group Airlines for America, about 17.5......
Infrastructure & Science Funding Bills Move Through House Committees
May 24, 2019
The House Appropriations Committee was hard at work addressing infrastructure and science education this week, which is perfect timing after last week’s nation-wide Infrastructure Week push. The committee passed bills to set aside funding for a number of infrastructure categories including water, energy, and national parks, while the House Appropriations Transportation, Housing and Urban Development......
Infrastructure Week: #BuildForTomorrow
May 16, 2019
The mood this Infrastructure Week was optimistic, with the timing perfectly sandwiched between two important meetings: the April 30th discussion between Democratic leaders in Congress and President Trump to discuss a $2 trillion investment solution and a scheduled next week to discuss funding solutions for this plan. Excitement was in the air from the DMV to Texas,......
U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Hears Infrastructure Investment Priorities
May 03, 2019
There’s more blooming this spring than just flowers; so are discussions in the House and Senate on infrastructure investment. This week, the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee held a Members’ Day Hearing as an opportunity for all Members of the U.S. House of Representatives to discuss their infrastructure investment priorities before the Committee. Lawmakers......
Report Examines Mileage-Based User Fee Future
April 26, 2019
This week, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) released a report entitled, “A Policymaker’s Guide to Road User Charges.” The report calls on Congress to develop and pass legislation directing the U.S. Department of Transportation (US DOT) to establish a national Mileage-Based User Fee system (MBUF) , or a “Road User Charge” (RUC). The......
ASCE Testifies on Resilient Infrastructure
March 15, 2019
On Wednesday, the U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies held a stakeholder’s perspective hearing on building more resilient infrastructure. This Subcommittee determines how federal dollars are allocated for each of these issue areas. ASCE Board of Direction Member, Carol Haddock, P.E., testified alongside Laura Lightbody, Project Director for......
January 23, 2019
This afternoon, the Georgia Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers released the 2019 Report Card for Georgia’s Infrastructure. Fourteen infrastructure categories were given an overall grade of “C+.” In 2014, the state received a cumulative GPA of a “C.” The following state’s transportation categories, bridges (“C+”), roads (“C+”), and transit (“D+”), saw grade increases......
President Signs Earthquake Program Reauthorization
December 20, 2018
On December 11th, President Trump signed S. 1768, the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP), which reauthorizes the federal program to improve the nation’s earthquake preparedness for five years. The legislation is the first reauthorization of the NEHRP in 15 years and the program has operated without an authorization since October of 2009. In addition......