American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA)’s Post

In the first two years of President Biden's administration... They passed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan to help restart the nation’s economy after the pandemic-induced crash; the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (better known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law) to repair roads, bridges, and waterlines, extend broadband, and build infrastructure for electric vehicles; the roughly $280 billion CHIPS and Science Act to promote scientific research and manufacturing of semiconductors; and the Inflation Reduction Act, which sought to curb inflation by lowering prescription drug prices, promoting domestic renewable energy production, and investing in measures to combat climate change. This was a dramatic shift from the previous 40 years of U.S. policy, when lawmakers maintained that slashing the government would stimulate economic growth, and pundits widely predicted that the Democrats’ policies would create a recession. -Heather Cox Richardson

Congress is back in session this week after another eventful week in national politics (understatement of the year…century…all time??). In addition to everything happening around the upcoming presidential election, this week marks some big steps in government funding. – On the House side, four spending bills are up for floor consideration: Agriculture-FDA, Energy and Water, Interior-Environment, and Financial Services. The Rules Committee will meet today to consider which of the 683 filed amendments to those bills will be considered on the floor.  – The Senate Appropriations Committee will mark up four additional bills on Thursday: Commerce-Justice-Science, Interior-Environment, State-Foreign Operations, and Transportation-HUD. Many of our nation’s ocean-and science-related programs are funded through these bills, and this is the first time we’ll see the Senate’s proposed funding and policy stipulations for FY25. In other #oceanpolicy news: – The administration released the first comprehensive, government-wide strategy to target #plasticpollution at the production, processing, use, and disposal stages. – NOAA: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration announced $220 million in funding, and an additional $66 million in future year funding, through the IRA and BIL to support transformational #habitat restoration and #coastalresilience projects. Read more in this week's roundup! https://lnkd.in/gFVUZVcF

The #German Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU-Bundestagsfraktion) believe that the road will stay the main transport modality in #Germany. The party said this in a parliamentary motion, which also calls for extra medium-term funding for the road sector. In defiance of #EU policy, the party does not seem to want a modal shift away from the road. #railfreight #railfreightnews #railcargonews

It's Infrastructure Week! The Administration is celebrating the historic progress of President Biden's Investing in America agenda, which is unlocking economic opportunity, creating good-paying jobs, and growing the economy from the middle out and the bottom up. To date, the Administration has announced nearly $454 billion in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding, including over 56,000 specific projects and awards across over 4,500 communities in all 50 states, D.C., the territories, and for Tribes. The White House has released an updated map showcasing the more than 56,000 projects and awards that are identified or now underway. Learn more about the wide-ranging impact of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and President Biden's entire Investing in America agenda at the link below. #InvestingInAmerica #InfrastructureWeek

I want this government to succeed, as that’s what’s in the best interests of business, the economy and everyone, but they won’t succeed by pulling much needed investment in Northern transport infrastructure

In this week's Planning Act 2008 blog, partner Angus Walker considers the Water Resources National Policy Statement and the Manston judgment as well as the outcome of the Prime Minister's Net Zero speech. On 20 September, Rishi Sunak’s latest Net Zero strategy update appeared primarily to be concerned with rolling back policies already a long way from becoming law. However there was some positive news, pertinent to the Nationally Significant Infrastructure projects regime.   Read the full blog here: https://lnkd.in/evzQF3xb #planning #NPS #netzero #infrastructureplanning #legal

Is it time to worry yet? Working in transportation finance for more than 20 years gives Dr. Asha Weinstein Agrawal, Director of MTI’s National Transportation Finance Center, extensive insights into how we fund critical transportation infrastructure, including our nation’s roadways. She recently presented the findings of the 15th annual MTI Tax Survey, which examines what Americans think about federal tax options to support transportation. In all of the potential scenarios explored by Dr. Agrawal’s team, transportation funding is plummeting. While the survey results are promising—with the public consistently favoring the “green rate” mileage fee replacement for the gas tax—transportation professionals and policymakers need to step in now, before things escalate. Listen to Dr. Agrawal’s wisdom and that of other transportation experts in our webinar: #MTIPolicySummit24 Beyond the Pump: Rethinking Transportation Funding Without the Fuel Tax. Learn about the urgency of finding alternative funding sources to the gas tax by watching the recording: https://lnkd.in/gYmKbv3z

As #InfrastructureWeek comes to a close here in the US, we acknowledge the diligent efforts to revitalize and modernize our nation's backbone. The White House has released an updated map showcasing more than 56,000 projects and awards identified or underway. See the White House Investment Plan linked in Christine J Harada's post below. Though we have a ways to go to meet the #infrastructure needs of our growing population, I'm thrilled to witness the groundbreaking strides the AEC industry is contributing to aid the transformation. At Bluebeam, our vision aligns closely with public sector legislation promoting historic investments in infrastructure, #sustainability and semiconductor manufacturing, and our software is used on the majority of these projects nationwide. Successful projects hinge on collaboration, transparency and the digitalization of data. Read more about one of our projects in this South Carolina Department of Transportation case study. Bluebeam saved the department millions and boosted the Design-Build team’s productivity by cutting review times in half.  👉 https://lnkd.in/eEeWVunw

Have you seen this incredibly helpful summary of all the federal funding that’s going on? Really good tidbits and details in here as we work toward building an equitable economy. https://lnkd.in/efWcUhxB

The key to bridging the gap in our communities is by bringing education directly to the people through social media. With a staggering 4.2 billion individuals engaging on these platforms for 2-3 hours daily, the potential for impact is immense. It's imperative to get innovative and develop content that resonates with the audience, building meaningful engagement. At the core, it's crucial to recognize that it's the community's tax dollars that support infrastructure projects. Hence, it's high time to actively involve the public in these initiatives. Embracing a digital approach, maintaining transparency, and ensuring accountability are paramount in this process. Together, let's pave the way for a more informed and empowered society. #CommunityEngagement #DigitalTransformation #Transparency #Accountability #EducationThroughSocialMedia