Highway Expansion
New Poll: 27% of Public Would Cut Transit Aid, Versus 12% for Highways
The latest weekly edition of the Economist/YouGov poll asks where, if a balanced federal budget were the goal, the American public would rather see cuts to federal spending. As the chart above shows, transit was given the theoretical axe by 27 percent of respondents, tied with agriculture and housing but far behind foreign aid, which held the lead at 71 percent.
April 8, 2010
Senate Starts Work on New Transport Bill, With House Version as a Guide
The Senate today took its first steps towards voting on a new long-term federal transportation bill, with environment committee chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) vowing to take up a successor to the 2005 infrastructure law before 2011 and indicating she would use the House's already-introduced version as a framework.
March 3, 2010
New Dem Campaign Brands Stimulus Critics as ‘Highway Hypocrites’
As more media outlets note the phenomenon of GOP lawmakers who voted against the Obama administration's economic stimulus law before seeking -- and taking credit for winning -- a share of its infrastructure money, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) is seizing an opening to tag its opponents as two-faced.
March 3, 2010
TCS: Disputed Transport Provision in Jobs Bill Rewarded Political Clout
A provision in the Senate jobs bill that would distribute $932 million in 2010 transportation funding based on existing earmarks is in line for a quick fix, thanks to a deal struck on Friday between House transportation committee chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN) and Democratic leaders in the upper chamber.
March 2, 2010
New Analysis: Major Cities Still Shortchanged by Transportation Stimulus
The Obama administration's awarding of $1.5 billion in competitive transportation stimulus grants on Wednesday sparked elation in cities such as Kansas City and New Orleans. But those celebrations were more than just anecdotal evidence of the so-called TIGER program's urban impact, according to a new analysis from the Brookings Institution's Rob Puentes.
February 19, 2010
AASHTO Stimulus Report Omits Jobs Data Comparing Transit With Roads
The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), the trade group representing state DOTs in Washington, yesterday unveiled a website
and report billed as a one-year "progress report" on the White House's $34.3 billion in formula-based transportation stimulus spending.
February 10, 2010
Senate Weighs $14B for Roads, $7.5B for Transit in Jobs Bill
Senate Democrats huddled behind closed doors this afternoon to assess their options for a new job-creation bill, with one option of around $80 billion making headlines even second-ranked leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) warned that no details are set in stone.
January 26, 2010
Democrats Learning to Love the I-Word — But Will Words Bring Action?
The White House is re-centering its message around economic and fiscal concerns ahead of tomorrow's State of the Union address, with a new package of job-creation measures expected to vault to the top of the agenda and a three-year "spending freeze" pitched to deficit-wary conservative Democrats.
January 26, 2010
In Texas, One Newspaper Laments the Highway Lanes Not Built
The Transportation Enhancements program, which requires states to set aside 10 percent of their federal transport money for new bicycle and pedestrian facilities, among other projects, turns 19 years old this year. But you'd almost never know it after reading Saturday's Fort Worth Star-Telegram, in which the paper tallies -- with no shortage of alarm -- the federal money not being spent on new roads.
January 25, 2010
Coming Soon: A Senate Jobs Bill … With a New Approach to Transport?
The House disappointed more than a few transportation reformers last month in passing a major jobs bill with $75 billion for infrastructure but no merit-based funding or changes from the existing formulas for highways and transit.
January 8, 2010