The 117th Congress received a joint letter from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and 17 other organizations requesting for funds to close the $756 billion “investment gap” in the surface transportation system. They are seeking immediate action from the government’s end to help drive economic recovery. The numbers were down due to the impact of unprecedented events from last year. Industry leaders unite to remind the new congress to act on this matter urgently. They suggested a five-year plan to aid programs that can generate the most benefits to the economy as a whole.
Bridging this investment gap stimulates employment therefore helping alleviate the impact of the recession on people. With more than a million jobs lost last March 2020, this funding can help decrease this statistic. Experts suggested for the government to use existing programs to provide these requested funds as it seems to be the “quickest and most efficient manner” to do so. The letter pressures the new Congress by expressing that time is of the essence and by the fifth year (2026) projects such as “routine improvements can provide immediate economic stimulus to major improvements that can substantially transform the network.” Also, to recognize the continuous revenue losses of the state DOTs and transit agencies, they note that this funding be 100% federal share.
Recently a joint letter from the leaders of the asphalt pavement industry was featured in For Construction Pros. They write: “The letter noted that with a five-year obligation time those infrastructure package investments should be able to support programs and projects that generate the most benefits through the entire lifecycle of assets – ranging from routine improvements that can provide immediate economic stimulus to major improvements that can substantially transform the network.”