In dramatic fashion, President Trump walked out of a planning follow-up meeting with Congressional leaders on May 22 at the White House that aimed to discuss how to pay for a $2 trillion infrastructure spending package proposed on May 3. With discussions over a $2 trillion infrastructure package apparently dead in the water, Rep. Peter […]
READ MORE
Transportation Groups Call on Congress to Repeal Rescission of Highway Funding
editor@aashto.org May 24, 2019 0 COMMENTSOn May 20, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials sent a letter co-signed by 30 other transportation associations and groups to both Democrat and Republican Congressional leaders calling for the repeal of a $7.6 billion rescission in Federal-aid highway contract authority scheduled to occur in July 2020. “Section 1438 of the Fixing […]
READ MORE
A 2019 survey conducted by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials indicates that 36 out of 50 state departments of transportation or 72 percent are now funding centers or programs to operate drones. That’s up from 20 out of 44 state DOTs or 45 percent in AASHTO’s 2018 survey. On top of […]
READ MORE
National Youth Bridge Building Competition Selects 2019 Winners
editor@aashto.org May 24, 2019 0 COMMENTSAfter the “dust” settled from cracked balsa-wood trusses and snapped string cables, three teams of students from Michigan took home top honors at the 2019 American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials National Bridge Challenge competition; an event that is part of the organization’s annual spring meeting, held this year in Park City, UT. […]
READ MORE
AASHTO Passes Resolution Recommending Specific HTF Revenue Solutions
editor@aashto.org May 24, 2019 0 COMMENTSOn May 23, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials passed a resolution at its 2019 spring meeting in Park City, UT, that recommended four specific revenue-generation solutions for ensuring the solvency of the Highway Trust Fund. Those suggestions are: an increase in the federal motor fuels tax that may include indexing the […]
READ MORE
Trying to make transportation systems safer and more reliable is going to entail deploying new strategies and new technologies, according to a panel discussion held at the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials 2019 spring meeting in Park City, UT. Tony Kratofil (in photo above at podium), chief operating officer and chief engineer […]
READ MORE
FHWA’s Nason: Safety and Workforce Development Are Key Priorities
editor@aashto.org May 24, 2019 0 COMMENTSNicole Nason, fresh from her recent confirmation as administrator of the Federal Highway Administration, stressed in remarks at the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials 2019 spring meeting in Park City, UT, that safety and workforce development will be among her critical priorities during her tenure at the agency. [Above photo by the […]
READ MORE
State DOTs Examining New Ways to Eliminate Traffic Fatalities
editor@aashto.org May 24, 2019 0 COMMENTSA greater emphasis needs to be placed on safety by state departments of transportation, according to a panel discussion held at the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials 2019 spring meeting in Park City, UT. Mike Tooley (above right, with Julie Lorenz at left), director of the Montana Department of Transportation, moderated the […]
READ MORE
House Appropriations Committee Releases FY 2020 Transportation Funding Bill
editor@aashto.org May 24, 2019 0 COMMENTSThe House of Representatives Appropriations Committee issued a draft of its fiscal year 2020 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies or THUD funding bill on May 22, which provides a total of $86.6 billion in funds to the U.S. Department of Transportation – $167 million above enacted FY 2019 funding and $3.7 billion […]
READ MORE
Rep. Blumenauer Introduces Legislation to Raise the Federal Tax on Fuel
editor@aashto.org May 24, 2019 0 COMMENTSRep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., introduced the Rebuild America Act of 2019 on May 22, which would incrementally increase the federal tax on gasoline and diesel fuel by five cents a year over five years, index those taxes to inflation, and “establish Congressional intention” to replace those taxes with “a more equitable, stable source of funding” […]
READ MORE