AASHTO lists Top 10 Transportation Issues for 2011

With a new majority in the House, a new chairman and many new members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, as well as a changing national economic picture, it is worth asking the question, "What's ahead for transportation in 2011?"  The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) has compiled a list of very distinct - and pressing - issues that loom at the local, state, and federal levels.

"We are urging
Congress to write a balanced bill next year that meets the needs of
preservation and new capacity, meets the needs of rural and urban America, and
meets the needs for highways as well as transit," said John Horsley,
AASHTO’s executive director. "If we get a bill passed with these elements,
we have a shot of meeting the country’s needs.

Here’s a look at the top
10 transportation topics that we think will be part of the national
conversation in 2011 – in the media, in government, and around the dinner
table.

1.Enacting
a long-term transportation bill that will keep America moving. In 2010, there
was a lot of talk about the need for a new long-term transportation bill, but
in the end, Congress opted for a short-term extension until March 4 of the
existing law. Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.), new chairman of the House Transportation
and Infrastructure Committee, has said he would like a new bill ready for
consideration in the spring. Short-term extensions can create difficulties for
state departments of transportation who must juggle major, multi-year public
works projects such as reconstructing bridges or interchanges. In addition,
these projects require that states have secure, long-term financing before any
contracts can be signed. A multitude of associations, states, counties, cities,
businesses and highway users will continue to work to ensure that a balanced,
long-term and multi-year bill is adopted in 2011.

2.Paying
for the transportation system we need. Although the need to pass a long-term
bill is a significant priority for the country, the question often comes back
to how we pay for it at the federal, state and local levels. Many states are
facing severe cutbacks in funding used to match the federal contribution, compounding
the overall funding problem. Work is expected to continue in the next Congress
to adopt a series of sustainable funding sources for transportation infrastructure; identify state and federal responsibilities for
the funding of transportation; and create innovative financing options such as
infrastructure banks, public-private partnerships or subsidized bonding
programs.

3.Ensuring
Safer Roads. Deaths from traffic accidents dropped significantly in 2010, but
so did the number of cars and trucks on the highways. As the economy turns
around, keeping our roads safe will be an ongoing challenge.

4.Moving
on High-Speed Rail Grants. State DOTs are working closely with railroads, Amtrak,
and the Federal Railroad Administration to deliver on $8 billion in investment
in high-speed and intercity passenger rail included in the 2009 American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act, as well as another $2.5 billion allocated to
state programs in 2010 under the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act.
As a result, states and their contractors are gearing up to begin work on an
unprecedented level of investment in our nation’s passenger rail system.
Whether it is establishing a right-of-way for a new high-speed rail line,
improving or expanding an existing intercity passenger
rail line, or developing standards for rail cars
that will boost American manufacturing, states are building passenger rail
aimed at generating more convenient options for travelers.

5.Bringing
modernization and new technologies to our transportation network. 2011 could
mark the beginning of the era of smart cars, smart roads and smart
construction. More "smart cars" on the road will help increase safety
for all of us. And with new "whiz-bang"
technologies using
specialized materials, updated techniques and innovation, road builders and the
transportation construction industry will be able to speed-up construction,
reduce costs, and increase safety. AASHTO’s new Green Book – A Policy on
Geometric Design of Highways and Streets, the bible of transportation
engineering – will be published in early summer. In addition, the next
generation of air traffic controls – based on global-positioning satellite
technology (GPS) instead of radar – will smooth air travel.

6.Moving freight to keep
our communities more competitive in the global economy. Grain grown in Nebraska
moves by truck to a nearby railhead in Kansas, where it is loaded and sent to a
barge floating down the Mississippi. Once at the international Port of New
Orleans, it is sent to countries around the globe, part of an integrated system
that depends on a well functioning transportation system. Problems such as
too-narrow country roads, congested freeways, old, worn-out levees and ports
with limited access pose significant challenges to our economic future. With
the widening of the Panama Canal by 2014, ports along the eastern seaboard and
in the Gulf of Mexico are gearing up to serve larger ships, that, in turn, will
cut container shipment time from Asia to the Eastern United States, while
placing new burdens on the existing and aging transportation system. 2011 could
also be the year in which the United States adopts a national multi-modal
freight plan.

7.Increasingly
assertive environmental regulations. Under the aegis of the Clean Water Act,
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing more stringent rules to
control stormwater from transportation sources. Other regulations addressing
air quality and other transportation-related issues are also expected in the
year ahead, adding new challenges and financial pressures on construction,
maintenance and preservation. State departments of transportation are looking
closely at their existing programs and many are instituting promising practices to
address these new challenges.

8.Social
Media Continues to Rock the Transportation World. Social media has hit the state departments of transportation, and in a big way. "Know Before You Go,"
transparency, and information are the hallmarks of the new outreach, and
drivers are clamoring for more. Ahead:  more targeted use of social media,
with better communication and information being the end result.

9.New
support systems to bolster renewable and reliable energy sources. With the
advent of electric vehicles, charging stations will begin to pop up to allow
the driver to connect to the grid where vehicles park-street-side, garage
or parking lot-and provide the car’s onboard charger with the electricity it
needs to refill the battery. AASHTO is working with the Pew Center on Global Climate
Change on a project to integrate plug-in electric vehicles with the U.S.
electricity grid, nationwide. Elsewhere in the transportation sector,
opportunities to support energy and climate goals include vehicle technology,
alternative fuels, transportation system operation and driver behavior, and
reducing travel demand.

10.Wrapping
up Recovery Act projects. With no additional funding coming to states for
transportation projects, what’s ahead for small (and large) transportation
construction businesses and their workers in 2011?  And how will state
DOTs respond to their backlog of aging road, bridge, and transit projects?
 

AASHTO is the "Voice
of Transportation" representing State Departments of Transportation in all
50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. AASHTO is a nonprofit,
nonpartisan association serving as a catalyst for excellence in transportation.