March 19, 2015
This week the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate majorities unveiled their fiscal year 2016 (FY16) budgets. Traditionally, passing a budget in Congress is a particularly partisan endeavor with most all members in the majority voting in favor of their budget, and all the minority members voting against it. Should this Congress......
Action to Fix Highway Trust Fund Needed by This Summer
March 09, 2015
On Monday, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its latest projections on the fiscal health of the federal Highway Trust Fund (HTF). The HTF is the main source of federal money for road, bridge and transit projects and has been facing fiscal challenges for a number of years. Last summer, Congress provided a temporary infusion......
The Excitement of Infrastructure
March 02, 2015
Iowa’s transportation investment as funded by the state gas tax FINALLY received a 10-cent raise last week, which went into effect yesterday. The last time it had seen an increase before that? 1989. To put that in perspective: the Bachelor who has been bringing Iowa a lot of attention the past two months celebrated his......
This Week in Infrastructure: State Solutions, Innovations for Infrastructure Improvement
February 20, 2015
A bus tour sharing the message we need to invest in infrastructure to “Grow America”, increased momentum towards state-level gas tax increases and new transportation innovations are all building momentum towards improving our nation’s infrastructure. On Wednesday morning in Los Angeles a water main broke that was installed in 1926, causing flooding and damage to nearby......
February 19, 2015
While it might not be as amusing as this, this week U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said that a quality transportation network is important to the future of the nation and he urged Congress to quickly adopt a multi-year surface transportation bill. Secretary Foxx did so as he rolled through a few southern states in......
This Week in Infrastructure: Infrastructure Won’t Fix Itself
February 13, 2015
It is not a news flash that America’s infrastructure needs serious attention and investment. In light of increased attention to our nation’s surface transportation needs, many states are proposing increasing the gas tax to fund transportation. In addition, there has been an uptick in the number of news stories highlighting the need to be more......
Chime in on Wednesday to Fix the Trust Fund
February 09, 2015
As Congress continues the debate on the best way to #FixTheTrustFund and modernize America’s roads, bridges, and transit, USDOT Sec. Foxx and Transportation & Infrastructure Chairman Bill Shuster are heading to Twitter for a bipartisan “townhall” to discuss surface transportation. The town hall, a first of its kind, will be Wednesday, Feb. 11 after Sec.......
This Week in Infrastructure: Federal Funding Proposals Outline Roadmap for the Future
February 06, 2015
Between the USDOT’s 30-year transportation funding plan, Obama’s 2016 budget featuring the GROW AMERICA act and testimonies of transit needs in the media, our nation’s beleaguered infrastructure is getting some much-needed attention. One blaring example of the our nation’s urban transit needs is evident in James Robertson’s now viral story of walking 21 miles as......
ASCE Endorses an UPDATE to the Gas Tax
February 05, 2015
Twenty-two years ago ‘I Will Always Love You’ was the top song on the Billboard charts, a loaf of bread cost $0.75, and Unforgiven won the Oscar for Best Picture. A lot has changed since then, yet the gas tax rate that funds our transportation system has remained the same. Yesterday, the American Society of......
USDOT Proposes We Move Beyond Traffic
February 03, 2015
With the frequency of short-term funding and authorization patches for the Highway Trust Fund lately, it may seem that a long-term outlook for our transportation system is not top-of-mind. However, the U.S. Department of Transportation yesterday started a conversation to get Americans talking about where our transportation network should go in the next 30 years.......
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