Skip to main content

US transportation bill moves forward

The US Government is making progress with its new surface transportation bill, in a move that will be of good news to all contractors and construction firms in the country. This bill has been delayed now for two years, with a knock-on effect for the construction industry in that there have been few new works commencing. American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) president Pete Ruane has commented on the US Senate EPW Committee Mark-Up of MAP-21, the Surface Transportation Bill. Ruane said,
April 26, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
The US Government is making progress with its new surface transportation bill, in a move that will be of good news to all contractors and construction firms in the country. This bill has been delayed now for two years, with a knock-on effect for the construction industry in that there have been few new works commencing.

American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) president Pete Ruane has commented on the US Senate EPW Committee Mark-Up of MAP-21, the Surface Transportation Bill. Ruane said, “Today’s unanimous vote in the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee in support of a two-year surface transportation bill that would maintain current authorisation levels and institute a host of important policy reforms is a critical step toward beginning to address the nation’s enormous infrastructure challenges.” He continued, “It also demonstrates that bipartisanship is still a viable option in the pursuit of public policy solutions. We commend Chairman Boxer and Senators Inhofe, Baucus and Vitter for their leadership in producing the MAP-21 proposal. “As positive as today’s action is—particularly after more than two years of temporary extensions—the fundamental obstacle to a multi-year surface transportation bill remains. We urge the Senate Finance Committee to act quickly in securing the additional revenue necessary to support the bill’s transportation investments. Hundreds of thousands of American jobs are at risk until both the Senate and House complete action on a long-term highway and transit reauthorisation bill.”

Related Content

  • Yotta’s Horizons and Mayrise create a route map of the world
    September 14, 2016
    Simon Topp, director of international business at software developer Yotta, explained the need for having the best possible plan in place. Highways agencies and departments the world over face a raft of complex and difficult challenges when it comes to managing and maintaining their infrastructure assets. In some countries, where natural disasters or extreme weather events are endemic, good asset management will need to be supplemented by risk and resilience planning. In the US, for example, the Feder
  • UK Work Zone Safety Practices Praised by IRF
    June 15, 2018
    The International Road Federation has highlighted worn zone safety practices in the United Kingdom by bestowing the 2018 IRF “Find a Way” Global Road Safety Award to Highways England, the agency tasked with managing the country’s major roads. The Award was instituted in 2012 as part of the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety by IRF chairman Eng Abdullah Al-Mogbel in recognition of the value of leadership by example in driving road traffic injury reduction strategies. Every year, the Award disti
  • A defining milestone for Caribbean cooperation
    July 20, 2012
    Over 200 delegates from 31 countries took part in the 1st IRF Caribbean Regional Congress, a new platform for dialogue at the service of a region with fast-evolving infrastructure needs. As they address the questions of development and global integration, many of the Caribbean region's island nations are adopting visionary measures to adapt their highway infrastructure to the needs of a booming economy, growing regional trade and an increasingly mobile population.
  • Circular highways is a necessity not an aspiration – and it’s within our grasp
    December 10, 2021
    Shell is helping power the journey towards a circular paving industry with Shell Bitumen LT R, a new product for roads that uses plastics destined for landfill as part of the additives to make the bitumen.