Transportation Coalition Unveils New Campaign

Federal Transportation Bill Needed to Meet State and Local Challenges

(Des Moines, IA) Surrounded by local and state transportation groups, Associated General Contractors (AGC) of Iowa Board President Robert Cramer unveiled a new marketing and public education campaign urging Congress to pass a 6 year highway and transit authorization bill.

“This campaign is geared to raising awareness that Congress has not acted on reauthorizing a surface transportation bill. Our bridges, roads, and public transit infrastructure need a long-term funding plan from the federal government,” commented Cramer who is also President of the Grimes-based bridge building firm Cramer and Associates.

In addition to concerns with the level of funding needed to improve our surface transportation infrastructure, the lack of a federal bill causes additional challenges for Iowa’s Department of Transportation (DOT). “The uncertainty of federal funding results in states having to be more cautious in construction programming. If states had a better idea of federal funding levels, we could have programmed more projects this year,” explained Iowa DOT Director Nancy Richardson.

Currently, Iowa receives over $400 million a year from the federal government for surface transportation projects at the state and local levels. The current short-term extension for surface transportation funding ends December 31, 2010. Absent a new multi-year bill or another extension, it is very difficult for state and local governments to plan for the next construction season.

The challenges for transportation infrastructure revolve around a lack of sufficient funding for the overall system and a lack of the needed stability in funding in order to do long-term investment planning. “We have underinvested in transportation infrastructure while facing increased construction costs, weather related impacts, and a generally aging system,” noted Bill Stowe, Director of Public Works for Des Moines. These comments were also echoed by Mike Carver, a businessman who sits on the board of the Metropolitan Planning Organization.

Lyle Brehm, County Engineer for Tama and Poweshiek Counties, added that local governments are also facing delays with road and bridge projects due to the lack of action by Congress.

At the state level, Senators Matt McCoy, Larry Noble and Tom Rielly, who lead transportation-related efforts in the Iowa Legislature, attended the event, calling on Congress to put partisanship aside and focus on solving this problem.

The Transportation Construction Coalition, co-chaired by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce-led Americans for Transportation Mobility and the AGC of America, is teaming up to push this effort nationally, initially starting with efforts in seven states. The groups will invest over $100,000 nationally to purchase bus signs, billboards, and some newspaper and radio advertising.

For more information about the state of the nation’s highways and transit systems please visit www.FixAgingRoads.org.