On Feb. 26, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure passed H.R. 5912, the Expedited Delivery of Airport Infrastructure Act of 2020. This ԹϺ-supported legislation would ensure that Airport Improvement Program (AIP) funds can be used to provide incentive payments to contractors for early completion of eligible projects. Early completion incentives allow owners to identify projects that provide significant public benefits that would be enhanced if the project were completed earlier. Rather than the owner agency establishing unrealistic completion dates, which could discourage some contractors from bidding on those projects, incentive payments allow contractors to determine how best to earn the incentive. ԹϺ applauds the committee for passage of this measure and will continue to support its movement through the legislative process.
On Feb. 19, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao announced the award of $520 million in airport infrastructure grants to 287 airports as part of the Airport Improvement Program (AIP). The AIP grant program awards billions of dollars each year for the planning and development of public-use airports across the country. As part of the ԹϺ-supported fiscal year 2020 funding bill, the program received $3.75 billion in federal funding, $400M more than is authorized by the FAA Reauthorization Act. ԹϺ applauds the Secretary’s announcement and will continue to support investment in our nation’s airport infrastructure.
On Feb. 7, the House is expected to pass ԹϺ-supported legislation providing billions in funding to Puerto Rico for disaster relief and recovery efforts. This bill, spurred by the recent earthquake, will help restore, improve, and build critical infrastructure on the island. In addition, the measure will provide $1.25 billion for the Federal Highway Administration’s Emergency Relief Program—funding that will repair roads and bridges not only in Puerto Rico, but also in states across the country that have been damaged by recent natural disasters and other catastrophic events.
House Democrat Infrastructure Framework:
ԹϺ of America’s Business Development Forum, with support from The Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS), will offer free one-on-one Business Development (BD) “Check-Ups” to ԹϺ Convention attendees to review and offer guidance on their BD and marketing related efforts. Subject matter experts from across the nation will be paired with attendees to answer questions and challenges relating to BD planning, sales, proposals, client presentations, branding, brochures, websites, social media, and more. The Free Business Development and Marketing Check-Up booths will be open Tuesday and Wednesday March 10 & 11 from 9:30-11:30 am PST. To learn more and sign up ahead of time please contact paige.packard@agc.org.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) is seeking information to help it develop a National Freight Strategic Plan (NFSP) to address the needs of multimodal freight transportation. According to the Department, freight tonnage will increase by 44 percent between 2015 and 2045, placing increased strain on a system that moves approximately 18 billion tons of freight annually across the country via all modes of transportation. USDOT is also seeking information to help shape its ROUTES (Rural Opportunities to Use Transportation for Economic Success) initiative, as 46 percent of the nation’s highway fatalities occur on rural roads and where nearly half of all truck vehicle miles traveled occur. ԹϺ intends to submit comments on both proposals.
Nicole Nason, Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), will address the Highway and Transportation Division on during ԹϺ’s 2020 Convention in Las Vegas this March. As FHWA Administrator, Nason is currently spearheading development of the Trump administration’s principles on FAST Act reauthorization. A leading traffic safety advocate, Nason headed up the National Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) during the George W. Bush administration and served in several other USDOT positions prior to her appointment to lead to organization. During the division meeting, Nason will give her insights into the outlook for reauthorization this year and highlight the Administration’s legislative priorities. Click here for more information and to register for the 2020 ԹϺ Annual Convention.
On Dec. 20, President Trump signed two spending packages totaling $1.4 trillion, preventing another year-end government shutdown and providing annual funding to all agencies of the federal government through September 30, 2020. Overall, federal construction accounts saw about a nine percent increase—or $12.4 billion—in funding in comparison to FY2019 funding levels. A full ԹϺ analysis of federal and federal-aid construction accounts for FY2020 can be found here.
ԹϺ joined with our highway construction industry partners in a letter to key Congressional transportation leaders to urge support for allowing federal funding to be used to implement automated enforcement in highway construction work zones. The letter pointed out that most work zone fatalities and injuries can be attributed to speeding in work zones. Speed enforcement is effective at reducing speed, but when it is carried out by a law enforcement officer, that person is placed at risk too. Implementing automated enforcement systems in work zones is successful noting that Maryland’s implementation of automated enforcement in work zones resulted in an 80% reduction in speeding violations and fatalities have dropped by half since the program’s inception. Some states lack resources to implement the technology and federal funds cannot currently be used to support this life-saving technology.