NAPA Thanks Congress for Highway Bill

While funding levels are now set through 2014, work remains to be done on long-term funding for transportation projects.

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The National Asphalt Pavement Association welcomes the passage of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st (MAP-21) Century Act. America’s road builders, road owners, and road users will all benefit from the stability that the two-year authorization brings to the industry.

“The House and Senate leadership and the transportation bill conferees all deserve credit and our thanks for delivering a bill that brings an end to years of short-term extensions,” said NAPA President Mike Acott. “This will benefit all Americans, and will help sustain jobs in the asphalt pavement industry.”

But the work is not over for Congress and the Administration. Unless changes are made to how the Highway Trust Fund is financed, the fund will run dry in fiscal year 2015.

“For the future of the country’s roads and the economic activity they support, Congress must address the long-term problems facing the Highway Trust Fund,” Acott said.

The Accelerated Implementation and Deployment of Pavement Technologies program included in the new bill will help speed the deployment of pavement innovations, such as increased use of warm mix asphalt (WMA) and higher levels of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) and other recycled materials, but the long-term funding problem remains.

“The asphalt pavement industry has been the leader in developing ways to build longer-lasting roads in economical and environmentally sustainable manners,” said Acott. “But unless the structural problems in funding for the Highway Trust Fund are fixed, even these innovations will not help the county maintain and grow its highway infrastructure.”

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