AGC annually participates in National Work Zone Awareness Week which is used as an opportunity to get media coverage to raise public awareness about the dangers for highway construction workers and motorists when road improvements are under way. This year’s National Work Zone Awareness Week (NWZAW) will take place April 15-19, 2013, with the theme “Work Zone Safety: We’re All In This Together.” While the number of fatalities, crashes and injuries have decreased in the past several years the problem still remains. NWZAW was conceptualized in 1999 as a way to recognize and focus on roadway work zone safety every April. A national event is scheduled for April 16, 2013, in Washington, D.C. to get the most media coverage possible. Many AGC chapters cooperate with their state DOTs in promoting Work Zone safety and also planning local and state media events. AGC of America serves on the Executive Committee planning the National event.

The Highway Trust Fund (HTF) and Airport Improvement Program are not included in the sequestration process that was implemented by President Obama on March 1, 2013. While the Highway Trust Fund is not included in sequestration, general fund transfers into the trust fund resulting from the recently enacted MAP-21 would be cut by $471 million, hastening the date when the trust fund will once again be unable to support annual funding levels. HTF revenue is sufficient to fund the program in FY 2013. Transit program new start capital grants, which are support from general fund revenue will be cut by $156 million.

Because congress was unable to pass the appropriations bills necessary to fund government programs in FY 2013, a six month Continuing Resolution (CR) was enacted at the end of last year. The current CR funded most federal government operations for the first six months of FY 2013 at similar levels to those provided in FY 2012. With the CR expiring on March 27, 2013, House Republicans are in the process of finalizing a CR that will keep the government funded through the end of the Fiscal Year on Sept. 30, 2013.  The bill currently being drafted by House Republicans would effectively cap spending at around $974 billion compared to the $1.043 trillion cap in the current CR.  This reduction is due to the sequestration cuts that started on March 1. The House may take up the legislation as early as next week.

On Wednesday, the White House issued a fact sheet providing more detail on the infrastructure proposal from President Obama’s State of the Union Address.   The Administration’s plan recognizes the need to continue focusing on our nation’s growing infrastructure needs, but falls short in addressing the long-term financial challenges of the federal infrastructure programs.  The summary of the President’s plan can be found here.

Earlier this week, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) issued a joint final rule implementing new regulations to speed up the environmental approval process for the repair or reconstruction of any road, highway, or bridge damaged in an emergency declared by either the state’s governor or the president.

Today, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure held its first hearing of the 113th Congress focusing on the importance of infrastructure to the U.S. economy and examining the role played by the Federal Government in ensuring safe, efficient, and reliable infrastructure.

The Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s (TTI) annual Urban Mobility Report was released this week. It details the $121 billion in costs Americans incurred in time and fuel from clogged roads in 2011.  Traffic congestion cost each motorist $818 in 2011 – based on wasted gasoline, lost productivity and increased vehicle maintenance costs.

This week, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its semi-annual estimate of the status of the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) based on revenue flowing in. The CBO also anticipated expenditures based on current law requirements.  CBO estimates that the highway account and the transit account will be able to meet obligations through the end of FY 2014, but will not have sufficient revenue to meet all obligations for FY 2015.

The Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s (TTI) annual Urban Mobility Report was released this week. It details the $121 billion in costs Americans incurred in time and fuel from clogged roads in 2011.  Traffic congestion cost each motorist $818 in 2011 – based on wasted gasoline, lost productivity and increased vehicle maintenance costs.

A special Session on legal and regulatory developments related to stormwater control has been organized by the Highway and Transportation Division in conjunction with AGC’s Environmental Forum during AGC’s 94th Annual Convention. Stormwater, increasingly, is becoming the new focal point in environmental permitting debates and related litigation and federal enforcement.