HRT supports Stand up 4 Transportation

Written by Jenifer Nunez, assistant editor

Hampton Roads Transit (HRT) will host a special event April 9 with a coalition of business and political leaders to highlight the urgent need for Congress to approve long-term funding critical for Hampton Roads' transportation infrastructure.

 

With support from the American Public Transportation Association, HRT will note the day with an event at the Newport News Transportation Center with comments from Aubrey Layne, Virginia’s secretary of transportation, Rep. Bobby Scott, (D-VA-3), members of the Virginia General Assembly and business leaders from manufacturing, technology and human services industries.

The current federal transportation funding bill, Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), is set to expire on May 31, 2015. Congress has passed stop-gap measures to keep funding active, but transit agencies across the country are calling for long-term funding to ease uncertainty.

Similar events are being hosted in more than 260 communities across the country as part of Stand Up 4 Transportation. If Congress fails to pass a new transportation bill with funding by the May deadline, the U.S. Department of Transportation may be forced to begin delaying payments to states beginning this summer. Some states are already facing difficult choices on advancing projects or slowing down payments to contractors.

Without sustained long-term funding, in FY2016 HRT says Virginia can expect that 145 bridge replacements will be delayed; 59 transit systems will not have the necessary funds to continue running as normal; more than 340 other projects may grind to a halt and
190 transit vehicles and 96 vehicles needed for the transportation of seniors and disabled persons may not be purchased.

 

 

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