Better Roads

August 2014

Better Roads Digital Magazine

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A t the National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) Mid-Year Meeting in Nashville last month, Walter "Butch" Waidelich Jr., associate administrator for infrastructure at the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), told attendees the Generating Renewal, Opportunity and Work with Accelerated Mobility (GROW America) surface transportation reauthorization proposal is progress because it recommended a package with a 37-percent increase from the MAP-21 surface transportation bill. The proposal would authorize $302 billion for FY 2015- 2018. Waidelich says it sends the message that state funding isn't enough – that "infrastructure is important and is the backbone of our economy." It is. It's what keeps the nation going. Just as the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) was about to become insolvent, Congress passed legislation to patch the Highway Trust Fund (HTF), H.R. 5021. It will keep federal surface transportation programs operating through May 2015. But it's just another patch – a Band-Aid. This has been the problem with each iteration of a transportation bill. Sure, it's encouraging that the latest proposal is a signifi cant increase from the previous bills but encouragement isn't going to help us move ahead. While we can all breathe a little easier knowing that we will at least stay afl oat through part of next year, Associated Equipment Distributors (AED) President & CEO Brian McGuire put it well: "While we're relieved that H.R. 5021 is on its way to the president's desk, this isn't a moment to celebrate," McGuire said. "By waiting until the last minute to solve a problem we've known for years was coming, Congress brought the highway program and the construction industry to the brink of disaster. Now, it's "incumbent on Congress," says American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) President and CEO Pete Ruane, to put its full focus "on the end zone enacting a long-term sustainable revenue solution for the Highway Trust Fund before the end of this year. If Congress chooses to wait until next May, when the funding patch is set to expire, we'll be no further ahead than we are now. "We'll no doubt see a repeat of this same process next spring with yet another package of budget gimmicks while the 2015 construction season hangs in the balance," Ruane says. It's time to break the cycle. Just as a person facing an addiction or dealing with a long family history of crime or violence needs to get out and break the cycle of behavior, so does Congress. It needs to break the cycle of just patching the problem. I'm a mom. I put Band-Aids on my kids all the time. It gives my kids an instant sense of relief. But I also know that I need to make sure a nasty cut or scrape isn't going to get infected. I have to treat it. If I don't, that Band- Aid will eventually fall off and I may be left with a scrape or cut that's infected and could pose health issues. Let's not let the backbone of our nation become that cut that is patched on the surface but has a raging infection underneath. It's time to stop the cycle. Y by Tina Grady Barbaccia, Editor-At-Large tinabarbaccia@gmail.com Better Roads August 2014 3 Highway Funding: On the Edge of Disaster? Editorial Editor-At-Large: Tina Grady Barbaccia Editorial Director: Marcia Gruver Doyle Online Editor: Wayne Grayson Online Managing Editor: Brian Ethridge Production Editor: Lauren Heartsill Dowdle Editor Emeritus: Kirk Landers Truck Editor: Jack Roberts Construction Editors: Tom Jackson, Tom Kuennen, Dan Brown editorial@betterroads.com Design & Production Art Director: Sandy Turner, Jr. Production Designer: Timothy Smith Advertising Production Manager: Linda Hapner production@betterroads.com Construction Media Senior VP of Market Development, Construction Media: Dan Tidwell VP of Sales, Construction Media: Joe Donald sales@constructionmedia.com Corporate Chairman/CEO: Mike Reilly President: Brent Reilly Chief Process Offi cer: Shane Elmore Chief Administration Offi cer: David Wright Senior Vice President, Sales: Scott Miller Senior Vice President, Editorial and Research: Linda Longton Vice President, Audience Development: Stacy McCants Vice President, Digital Services: Nick Reid Vice President, Marketing: Julie Arsenault 3200 Rice Mine Road NE Tuscaloosa, AL 35406 800-633-5953 randallreilly.com For change of address and other subscription inquiries, please contact: betterroads@halldata.com Better Roads TM magazine, (ISSN 0006-0208) founded in 1931 by Alden F. Perrin, is published monthly by Randall-Reilly Publishing Company, LLC. © 2014. Executive and Administrative offices, 3200 Rice Mine Rd. N.E., Tuscaloosa, AL 35406. Qualified subscriptions solicited exclusively from governmental road agencies, contractors, consultants, research organiza- tions, and equipment and materials suppliers. Single copy price $5.00 in U.S. and Canada. Subscription rate for individuals qualified in U.S. and Canada $24.95. Foreign $105.00. Special group rates to companies quali- fied in quantities over five names. We assume no responsibility for the va- lidity of claims of manufacturers in any advertisement or editorial product information or literature offered by them. Publisher reserves the right to refuse non-qualified subscriptions. Periodical circulation postage paid at Tuscaloosa, Alabama and additional entries. All rights reserved. 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