|
AASHTO Urges Congress to Restore Highway Trust Fund (3/1/10)
The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) urged Congress to act quickly to restore legal authority for the Highway Trust Fund so federal reimbursements to the states for highway and transit projects can resume.
Legal authority for the Highway Trust Fund expired Sunday after the House and Senate couldn’t agree on an extension. The shutdown means that $768 million in highway outlays and $157 million in transit outlays for this week to state transportation departments will be delayed.
“States cannot proceed doing business as usual — planning projects, implementing projects, and financing projects — without any kind of certainty about federal funds. Federal funds have to be there for us,” said Butch Brown, executive director of the Mississippi department of transportation and AASHTO president. “Congress has to move quickly to correct this by passing legislation and getting it signed into law. This is a bad situation, and it’s only going to get worse.”
About 1,350 of the Federal Highway Administration’s 2,900 employees were furloughed Monday, most in the Washington headquarters office. Other FHWA employees will remain on duty to work on essential safety and security matters, as well as American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) projects, funded by the federal government's general fund rather than the Highway Trust Fund.
Susan Martinovich, director of the Nevada department of transportation and AASHTO vice president, said the Hoover Dam bypass road is one significant project already affected in Nevada. Work on that bridge halted Monday due to the Highway Trust Fund shutdown.
Your comments are welcome, click here.
Copyright © 2000 - 2010, Pandata Corp., All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy and Legal Statement.
|
