Pit & Quarry, January 2016

Long term highway bill finally a reality A long term bill to fund surface transportation infrastructure projects across the United States is in place for the first time in a decade The bill the Fixing Americas Surface Transportation FAST Act is the first long term national transportation bill since SAFETEA LU was put in place in 2005 President Obama signed the FAST Act a day after both chambers of Congress voted overwhelmingly in favor of the bill This bill is not perfect but it is a commonsense compromise and an important first step in the right direction Obama says According to The Hill the FAST Act spans 1300 pages Gas tax revenue and a 70 billion package in offsets from the federal budget supply the majority of the funds about 205 billion for highways and another 48 billion for transit projects The bill also reauthorizes the Export Import Banks expired charter until 2019 The American Road Transportation Builders Association ARTBA says the FAST Act will grow annual federal highway investment by 151 percent from the current 403 billion to 464 billion The association says the bill does not provide a permanent solution to the Highway Trust Funds structural revenue deficit According to ARTBA the FAST Act uses a variety of one time cost savings and non transportation resources to supplement incoming trust fund revenue to support its investment levels over the next five years More online Want another FAST Act reaction Visit Pit Quarry online for a perspective from Astecs Paul Smith who discusses a strategic approach to continuously keep up with the nations transportation infrastructure Read the article at www pitandquarry com smith mindset Passage of the Fixing Americas Surface Transportation FAST Act drew a mostly positive response from industry stakeholders Heres how a few people with surface transportation infrastructure interests reacted to the multi year highway bill Mike Johnson National Stone Sand Gravel Association This critical bill gives state and federal governments the funding certainty essential for informed infrastructure investment Our industry is ready to get to work and help improve the condition efficiency and safety of Americas roads highways and bridges We commend members of Congress for seeing the value of a robust infrastructure to foster economic growth maintain our global competitiveness and improve the quality of life for Americans Dennis Slater Association of Equipment Manufacturers The FAST Act will offer five years of stability to our nations surface transportation programs while steadily increasing infrastructure investment This certainty extends to both the equipment manufacturing industry and the entire economy The FAST Act means faster and safer infrastructure economic growth and more prosperity Brian P McGuire Associated Equipment Distributors This is more than a philosophical victory Equipment dealers manufacturers and their customers can now once again plan for the future Over the next five years the hundreds of billions of dollars in federal highway and transit investment guaranteed in the bill will stimulate more than 13 billion in equipment sales rental and maintenance activity and support more than 4000 dealership jobs each year Ken Orski Innovation Briefs author The FAST Act marks the beginning of the end for the Highway Trust Fund as we have known it The 305 billion five year measure draws heavily on general funds and relegates to a virtual anachronism the user pays principle that was the philosophic foundation of the federal aid highway program for the past 60 years Pete Ruane American Road Transportation Builders Association The bill provides five years of funding predictability and less federal red tape for state transportation improvement programs This will help maintain employment assists the public and private sectors to plan ahead and it will speed up project delivery The industry reacts Johnson Orski Slater Ruane This bill is not perfect but it is a common sense compromise and an important first step in the right direction President Obama McGuire 6 PIT QUARRY January 2016 www pitandquarry com