Infrastructure in the News: May 5, 2010

DC Streetsblog published analysis showing that 59% of road stimulus went to repair and 35% to new capacity, and Pittsburgh Post Gazette reported that Governor Ed Rendell requested more money for roads. Read more in this Infrastructure in the News.

National News

Journal of Commerce: Highway Bill Delay Seen Stretching into 2011
It may be 2011 before Congress passes a surface transportation bill, says Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., ranking Republican on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. “I think we’re looking at spring, though I haven’t given up” on December, Mica told transportation attorneys at Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott yesterday.

DC Streetsblog: New Analysis: 59% of Road Stimulus Went to Repair, 33% to New Capacity
In the first year of the Obama administration's economic stimulus law, 59 percent of its $27 billion in transportation formula funds went to projects that preserve existing roads, while 33 percent was used to build new pavement, according to an analysis by the advocacy group Smart Growth America (SGA).

Economist: Roads are in the transportation business
IT IS said that the great railroad barons of the late 19th century made the fatal mistake of thinking that they were in the railroad business, when they were actually in the transportation business. They failed, in other words, to perceive that there were growing threats to their business from other modes of transportation—from substitutes for rail travel and shipping.

State News

Pittsburgh Post Gazette: Rendell calls for more cash for roads
By the time legislators end their current session Nov. 30, Gov. Ed Rendell wants them to come up with at least $472 million a year in additional funds to repair ailing roads and bridges and keep buses and subways moving. "People want safe, quality transportation," he said Tuesday as he opened a special legislative session on transportation. Highways, bridges and transit "are viewed differently by people than other things -- they're something people can see and touch."

AP: Official: Fund cuts would hurt Okla. road projects
Oklahoma's transportation secretary warned of devastating consequences if massive state budget cuts are imposed on road and bridge maintenance and construction program. The Department of Transportation would lose $492 million over eight years if lawmakers impose a 20 percent cut, severely curtailing the state's effort to upgrade and rebuild obsolete and deficient roads and bridges, said Transportation Secretary Gary Ridley. "It would be a huge, huge impact," Ridley said following Monday's meeting of the Oklahoma Transportation Commission. State lawmakers are studying the effect of budget cuts on state agencies and the services they provide as they prepare a balanced budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Lawmakers expect to have $1.2 billion less to spend than during the previous year due to low energy prices and the faltering economy.

IPR: Rally In Lansing Over Roads
Hundreds of people representing business groups, local governments, truckers and construction workers rallied in the state Capitol Tuesday, calling on the Legislature to raise money for roads, bridges, airports, and public transportation. The state has delayed more than 250 projects because it's running out of transportation funds. "Keep Michigan working, man, bring businesses," says Troy Wier. He's with an operating engineer union in Flushing. "A lot of businesses, when they're look to come in to Michigan, they're looking at our road structure, bridges. I know we've got a lot of deteriorating roads and they need fixed [sic], and we need work."