AASHTO Journal, 6 March 2015
This week AASHTO’s Transportation TV carries the opening statement at a Feb. 25 Senate hearing by Utah Department of Transportation Executive Director Carlos Braceras, who is also AASHTO’s secretary-treasurer.
Braceras urged Congress to pass a “robust, long-term” reauthorization bill before current authority for Highway Trust Fund programs expires this spring. He made the comments at a hearing of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which has responsibility for writing the highway portion of a bill.
This is one of many news videos TTV posted from the week of the AASHTO Washington Briefing, when top federal and congressional officials met state transportation officials and when Braceras and others fanned out on Capitol Hill to help tell Congress about state project funding needs.
He told senators in the EPW hearing that repeated short extensions of federal programs in recent years are hurting the predictability states need to plan and finance infrastructure projects that support the economy.
“The current extension expires in the middle of the spring construction season, and already several state DOTs are postponing needed projects that are scheduled to go out to bid. The sooner Congress acts, there’s a greater likelihood that these projects will be built this year, as opposed to being pushed back another year,” he said.
For more on his remarks, see the AASHTO Journal story, or view his complete written testimony.