- FHWA Quick Relief Funds Flow To States With Hurricane Helene Damage
- USDOT Touts Biden Administration's Infrastructure Investment And Job Creation Record
- New Hampshire Creates Commission To Study Long-Term Transportation Funding Solutions
- These are just some of the toll industry developments TRN is following.
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FHWA Quick Relief Funds Flow To States With Hurricane Helene Damage
AASHTO Journal provides a rundown on the tens of millions of dollars in Emergency Relief Program funding flowing to North Carolina, Tennessee, and South Carolina, the state’s hardest hit by Helene.
Among other things, the article notes:
- NCDOT has been given access to $100 million in aid, the largest amount FHWA is providing. In addition to supporting infrastructure repair, the federal funds are helping the state manage a surge in air traffic related to relief delivery and damage assessment in parts of the state where roads and bridges are still inaccessible.
- Much of the funding allocated to North Carolina and Tennessee will be used to restore I-40, a major transportation route between the states, and I-26.
- South Carolina was spared the worst effects of Helene. Federal funds are helping SCDOT mount roadway cleanup and debris clearance in 16 counties.
Transport Topics also covers this story.
Company and Agency Financial Issues And Reports Highway-Tunnel-Bridge Maintenance Highway-Tunnel-Bridge Safety (Includes COVID-19 Impacts) North Carolina North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) South Carolina South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) Tennessee Tennessee DOT US Department of Transportation (USDOT) US Gov't Transportation FundingUSDOT Touts Biden Administration's Infrastructure Investment And Job Creation Record
According to a USDOT news release issued today, since 2021, the president’s Investing in America Agenda has produced 1.7 million construction and manufacturing jobs and more than 700,000 transportation sector jobs. It has also advanced over 60,000 projects that receive IIJA (Bipartisan Infrastructure Law) funding. Other administration policy accomplishments cited in the release are:
- After subtracting out increases in the residential construction industry, the growth in construction and manufacturing employment since 2021 amounts to 1.3 million jobs, 400,000 of which are union jobs.
- Construction employment has reached its highest level in the 85 years since data collection started. The overall unemployment rate is the lowest in over 50 years.
- The new transportation sector jobs are going to occupations including pilot, port worker, bus driver, and rail engineer.
- Domestic factory construction investment “has nearly tripled.”
- IIJA-funded infrastructure development is “strengthening the American economy by fortifying supply chains and lowering costs, improving America’s global competitiveness, and creating millions of good-paying jobs that bring people into the middle class.”
New Hampshire Creates Commission To Study Long-Term Transportation Funding Solutions
In addition to declining gas tax revenues and higher construction costs, New Hampshire DOT is facing a budget crunch due to debt service payments on bonds that funded an expansion of I-93, WMUR reports. In recent years, the state legislature has rejected proposals to shore up transportation funding with mechanisms such as road use charging, fee hikes, or charges that increase with vehicle weight. However, it recently passed House Bill 1631 to establish the Commission to Study Revenue Alternatives to the Road Toll. (The state’s gas tax is dubbed the “road toll.”) As the article points out, several possible solutions already are on the table. “They just involve things many lawmakers don’t want to vote for – namely, new or increased fees or taxes.”
Company and Agency Financial Issues And Reports Economic & Social Considerations Affecting Transportation New Hampshire New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT) Road Use Charging (RUC-MBUF-VMT)These are just some of the toll industry developments TRN is following.
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