Conference Committee Meets on Highway & Transit Bill
November 19, 2015
Yesterday, the joint House & Senate conference committee on the surface transportation authorization legislation met in what will likely be its only public meeting before the looming December 4 deadline to finalize work on a bill. The conference committee chairman, Rep. Bill Shuster (R-PA) kicked-off the meeting by stating, “There is plenty of common ground......
Tell Congress to Go Big on Transportation
November 17, 2015
The House and Senate are currently meeting to decide a big question when it comes to the future of the nation’s surface transportation program: Should funding levels be increased in order to improve and modernize the nation’s roads, bridges and transit system, or should funding levels stay flat for the next six years while the......
Five Year Highway & Transit Bill with Funding Increases Better Option
November 16, 2015
Last week, transportation stakeholders sent a letter to the House and Senate surface transportation conference committee in support of a robust five year highway and transit bill that would increase investment levels. The House-passed bill includes a $40 billion offset which could help increase investment levels if the duration of the bill were reduced from......
Infrastructure in the News: Innovation and Investment
November 13, 2015
With one week left until the House and Senate must negotiate on a compromise between the two pending transportation bills, the DRIVE Act and the Surface Transportation Reauthorization & Reform Act (STRRA), our infrastructure’s future continues to take center stage. ASCE and a group of 39 other transportation groups and unions wrote a letter to......
Army Corps of Engineers Are Stewards of Infrastructure
November 11, 2015
As stewards of our nation’s infrastructure, civil engineers work to design, build, and maintain our roads, bridges, water pipes, dams, and levees through many different private companies and public agencies, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). In honor of the veterans who have served in this way, here are some of the many......
Infrastructure in the News: A Major Bill Goes to Conference
November 06, 2015
With the Surface Transportation Reauthorization & Reform Act of 2015 moving to conference committee and elections on Tuesday, news headlines have been buzzing with wishes and concerns for our nation’s infrastructure. The House has officially approved the Surface Transportation Reauthorization & Reform Act, a six-year bipartisan bill that will provide flat-level funding. The bill must......
House Passes Six-Year Highway & Transit Bill
November 06, 2015
Yesterday, newly-minted House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) shepherded through his first piece of major legislation with bipartisan passage of a six-year, $325 billion surface transportation reauthorization bill. The Surface Transportation Reauthorization & Reform (STRR) Act of 2015......
Hidden, But Not Forgotten: The Engineering Role in Legacy Site Remediation
November 05, 2015
Ever since the Gold King mine accident this August in Colorado, public interest has grown – with Congress following suit – in the murky environmental legacy issue of abandoned mines that are pervasive across the American landscape. Often unbeknownst even to nearby neighbors, abandoned mines represent a pastime of American history that drove Western development......
Voters say “Yes” to Infrastructure on Nov. 3
November 04, 2015
Although 2015 may be an “off” election year, many states still held elections on critical issues. While some voted for Governor, state legislators and mayor, voters in Louisiana, Maine, and Texas were asked to make important decisions about the future of their state’s infrastructure. Transportation was the theme of this year’s ballot measure and......
House Readies for Action on Surface Transportation Bill
October 29, 2015
Yesterday, Congress enacted a short-term extension of current highway and transit program authority before the looming deadline of October 29. The current authorization and solvency of the federal Highway Trust Fund will now expire on November 20, which gives Congress about three more weeks to conclude a few important remaining steps in the process of......