Title: Highways Policy – The American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA)
Headings: Highways Policy
Highways Policy
Home / Government Affairs / Policy Statements / Highways Policy
Menu
Highways Policy
Issue Background
Scope of the U.S. Highway Network
Highways and the U.S. Economy
Highway and Bridge Conditions and Capital Investment Requirements
Objectives Guiding Development of the ARTBA Highway Policy
Highway Financing Issues
Support of the User Fee Concept
Permanent Extension of the Highway Trust Fund
Opposition to “Unified” Trust Fund
Increasing Motor Fuels Taxes to Meet Highway Capital Needs
Indexing Highway User Fees
Budgetary Protections for the Highway Trust Fund
Combating User Fee Evasion
Equal Taxation of Highway Use Energy
Energy Efficient Vehicles
Highway Funding Sanctions
Minimum Allocation to States
Capital Budgeting and Budgetary Treatment of Highway Trust Fund
Toll Facilities
Alternate Financing Methods
Public-Private Partnerships
Highway User Fee Exemptions
Federal-Aid Highway Program Issues
The Role of the Federal Government
The Role of State and Local Governments
Joint Federal-State-Local Responsibilities
Maintenance of Effort
Competitive Bidding System
“Union-Only” Labor Agreements
Davis-Bacon Act
Qualifications-Based Selection
Application of FARS to Professional Services Contracts
Highway Safety
Support of Unit Pricing
Highway Quality
The Interstate Highway Program
National Highway System
Bridges
Bridge Preservation
Non-NHS Highways and Bridges
Surface Transportation Program
Intermodality
Flexibility in Use of Federal Highway Funds
State and Local Decision-Making Authority
Patented and Proprietary Products
The Planning and Project Selection Processes
Modification of Financial Constraint Provisions
Regulatory Streamlining
Partnering
Performance Management
Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program
Hiring Preferences
Incentive/Disincentive Clauses
Warranting and Guaranteeing Highway Work
Performance-Based Prequalification for Contractors
Privatization of Highway/Bridge Maintenance
Research and Development
Federal Highway Program Accountability and Transparency
Recycled Materials
Promotion of Innovative Technologies and Materials Testing
Heavy Trucks
Use of Highway Right-of-Way
Border Infrastructure
Addressing Traffic Diversity
Pay-for-Performance Contracts
Require Payment of Prejudgment Interest
Require Owner Agencies to Pay Damages for Delays
Addressing Latent Defects
Hours of Service
U.S. DOT Training Requirements
Owner Controlled Insurance Programs
Design-Build
Buy America
Menu

Content: A 2015 study by the Texas Transportation Institute found traffic congestion due to inadequate capacity contributes to almost 7 billion of hours of delay on the Interstate Highway System and other principal arterials, compared to uncongested conditions, adding billions in costs to interstate commerce. According to the study, congestion in the nation’s 471 largest urban areas costs motorists $160 billion annually in wasted time and motor fuel. Highway and Bridge Conditions and Capital Investment Requirements
The U. S. DOT is required by law to prepare a report for Congress every two years that details the condition and capital investment requirements of the U.S. highway and bridge network. The 2015 Conditions and Performance Report, issued in early 2017, found: Just under 20 percent of the highway mileage on federal-aid highways in the United States failed to meet the criteria for acceptable pavement; in urban areas, the report found that 25 percent of arterial roads and 40 percent of collector roads were in poor condition. The document reports that just maintaining the nation’s 2012 highway and bridge conditions would require a total annual capital investment by all levels of government of $89.9 billion per year in constant 2012 dollars over 20 years. The backlog of work needed to bring all roads and bridges up to a state of good repair totals $836 billion. According to the 2015 report, actually improving the nation’s highways and bridges to meet strategic economic and safety goals would require a total annual investment of $142.5 billion in constant 2012 dollars over 20 years. According to the most recent data on the condition of U.S. bridges, released by FHWA in January of 2018: