New Game Changers Report Identifies Top Trends Shaping Infrastructure
July 23, 2015
The challenges our infrastructure faces are chronicled frequently on this blog and in the media. The Highway Trust Fund heading toward insolvency (again). Water main breaks occurring every two minutes. Congested roadways causing us each to lose time and waste gas. But that’s only half the story. Today, we released our new Infrastructure #GameChangers report,......
Five (More) Myths About the Highway Trust Fund
July 15, 2015
1. Devolving the federal program to the states is a viable option Devolution is the idea of eliminating the federal government’s ability to collect the current 18.4 cents per gallon in federal gasoline taxes (absent a few cents to remain dedicated toward maintaining the Interstate Highway System) and transferring all authority over these programs to......
Flat Funding is Flat Outrageous
May 07, 2015
As the deadline to reauthorize the federal surface transportation bill nears, the measure of success for many involved seems to be maintaining the status quo. Last week, leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives began touting “flat funding” as an accomplishment that Congress must work to achieve. But it’s flat out not. Here are some......
April 17, 2015
Congress returned to Washington this week after a two week recess, facing a new level of urgency to Fix the Highway Trust Fund before last summer’s extension ends on May 31. A few members of Congress wasted no time upon their return to the Hill to start raising this issue and offering their solutions. On......
Michigan Must Say Yes to Safer Roads
April 08, 2015
In Michigan, a common saying is “there are two seasons: winter and road construction.” Rough winters and underinvestment for the past 50 years have led the Great Lakes state to have some of the worst roads in the nation. And while construction season may seem constant during the warmer months, the truth is currently the......
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......
Moving Goods Moves the Economy
February 11, 2015
On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate Commerce Transportation subcommittee held a hearing on the role of U.S. ports, titled “Keeping Goods Moving.” Recently, the west coast ports have experienced major backups. These delays and their economic impact could be a glimpse of things to come if we fail to modernize our freight transportation network to meet......
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.......
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......
States Head to the Hill to Talk Transportation
January 29, 2015
Among several transportation-related Congressional hearings this week, the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works hosted U.S. DOT Secretary Anthony Foxx, the governors of Alabama and Vermont, and the South Dakota DOT secretary to discuss the need to fix the Highway Trust Fund. Sec. Foxx told the committee, “Gridlock in Washington is now creating......