Pit and Quarry

No more multi-year highway bills?

In his Innovation NewsBriefs e-newsletter, public policy consultant Ken Orski suggests the days of multi-year transportation bills may be over. "Long term authorizations have been a longstanding feature of the federal-aid transportation program," Orski says. "They have been justified by the need for contract authority, i.e. ability for state DOTs to make binding financial commitments for major multi-year projects in advance of annual appropriations. But there is a growing sense among the lawmakers on Capitol Hill," Orski continues, "that Congress may be forced to abandon the practice of multi-year reauthorizations." He says the current fiscal and political environment makes it almost impossible to raise hundreds of billions of dollars in a single legislative package.

Orski points to an unfunded shortfall in the highway trust fund: "At current levels of expenditure, a five-year authorization would require approximately $260 billion," he says. "Highway trust fund revenue and interest over the same time frame is projected to generate $175 billion, leaving an unfunded shortfall of approximately $85 billion. For a six-year bill, the unfunded shortfall would reach $100 billion. Where is that money to come from?

Hence, short-term bills (annual or bi-annual), requiring only relatively modest amounts in offsets or general fund supplements may become instead the accepted practice," Orski concludes. He says that given the Senate barely came up with enough funds for a two-year bill, and the House has no plausible funding for its five-year bill "suggests that the days of multi-year transportation authorizations may indeed be over." -Darren Constantino

As seen on TV

In a television commercial for the Audi A6 automobile, the company extols the virtues of its “intelligent” car in a world that’s less than perfect for driving. “Across the nation, over 100,000 miles of highways and bridges are in disrepair,” says a voice-over. I guess I wasn’t the only person to notice it. I read other accounts of the ad spot on the web, mostly from people advocating the need for investment in transportation infrastructure.

And there’s another commercial in the spotlight. A radio/television ad featuring Presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton that talks about transportation infrastructure has won a 2012 Hermes Award, given by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals. The ad, developed by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association and the American Public Transportation Association, won the Gold Award in the audio advocacy category and received an honorable mention in the TV advocacy category.

We’ve often discussed the desire for such advertising at our Pit & Quarry roundtable. Almost every year at this event, someone mentions the need for getting the message out to the public. The beef industry had “It’s What’s for Dinner” and the dairy industry had “Got Milk?” to promote their products. Many in our industry have a desire to deliver a similar message. The public needs to know that pits and quarries produce the material that is used for building our roads and schools. Public awareness would help get highway bills passed and might even make it easier for producers to obtain mining permits.

Thank you, Audi, for adding to the voices calling for the need of infrastructure investment, and for delivering the message directly to the public. -Darren Constantino

Rally for Roads

It’s rally time. The second annual Rally for Roads will take place at 11 a.m. March 20 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Members of 15 transportation construction industry associations, including NSSGA, will join together to show their support of a fully-funded, multi-year transportation bill. The rally will showcase the role transportation plays on stimulating the economy, maintaining the nation’s global competitiveness and creating American jobs. The rally will feature employees from all facets of the road construction industry, including materials providers, road pavers and equipment manufacturers and dealers. – Brian Richesson

No highway bill coming?

In his Innovation NewsBriefs e-newsletter, Ken Orski reports some sobering news in regards to efforts by Congress to get a long-term highway bill passed. Orski says that yesterday at the annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board in Washington, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood "stunned the audience by stating he thinks it very unlikely that a reauthorization bill will pass during the current session of Congress. In his view," Orski continues, "the differences between the House and the Senate are too great to be resolved in the polarized pre-election climate of the next 10 months."

Orski adds that the differences LaHood is referring to include the fact that the House is proposing a five-year bill while the Senate is equally determined to proceed with a two-year plan. Other differences include the funding mechanisms of the bills. Orski says, "The Secretary’s overtly expressed pessimism took many people by surprise, especially since in recent days there have been some encouraging signs of progress coming from Capitol Hill." –Darren Constantino

Road rules

NSSGA is following developments in a new Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration rule for states, requiring interstate truck drivers to provide proof from a medical professional that they are healthy enough to drive. The kicker? States failing to comply face a 5 percent cut in their federal highway funds, with that penalty doubling if they do not come into conformance the following year. Noncompliant states would have a grace period as long as they submit a plan to adopt the new rule. The deadline is Jan. 30 for drivers’ license offices to implement this requirement for truck drivers. Federal law already requires truck drivers to get medical clearance from a doctor. The new rule requires truck drivers to submit medical approval forms to state licensing offices, which are then required to enter the information into a national database. The Associated Press reported on this new rule in recent days. – Brian Richesson