Transportation Funds Drying Up: Are Tolling, Partnerships the Answer?

Is tolling and similar remedies increasingly the answer to the dearth of funds for transportation?

Testifying before the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission, International Bridge Tunnel and Turnpike Association Executive Director Patrick Jones said that while the transportation demands facing the nation are daunting, tolling and road pricing are tools to help the nation generate new money for highways and better manage congestion.

"We are here today because Congress, the White House and the states cannot seem to find a way to make the necessary investments in our highways," Jones said.

"Today on our highways we experience the equivalent of an electrical brownout twice a day-every day-in every major metropolitan area in this country. This brownout manifests itself as gridlock when the congestion of the morning and evening rush hour brings commerce and commuting to a halt."

Jones emphasized three points:

First, tolling is a piece of the puzzle. Road user charging is one of the tools that will help solve our mobility challenge. It's not the only tool; but it's important because it establishes a direct connection between the use of the road and payment for that use.

Second, opponents of tolling are standing in the way of transportation system improvements by taking common, everyday words such as "private," "investment," "foreign," "profit," and "lease" and turning them into profanities.

Third, improvements in electronic tolling technologies, which permit nonstop revenue collection, give the chance to raise large amounts of new money for our highway system and manage it efficiently.

Jones described how toll road concessions in Europe, South Africa, Australia and elsewhere have been used successfully to improve mobility and serve the public interest while at the same time providing an attractive investment vehicle for private financing.

The International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association is the worldwide association for the owners and operators of toll facilities and the businesses that support them. IBTTA has members in 30 U.S. states and in 25 countries on six continents around the world.

Cement Consumption Expected To Decline 1.5%, PCA Says

Cement consumption is expected to decline 1.5% in 2007 vs. 2006, according to research by the Skokie-based Portland Cement Association.

The decline is attributable to the decline in residential construction, the PCA said.

The spring forecast, presented at the recent PCA Board of Directors Meeting in La Jolla, Calif., by Chief Economist Ed Sullivan, anticipates gradual gains throughout the second half of 2007 but not large enough to offset the year's first half weaknesses. The increased construction activity that is expected to begin mid-year, however, will carry over to 2008 and contribute to an estimated 3.9% growth in consumption then.

In 2007 gains in nonresidential and public construction will not be large enough to offset the harsh downward trends in the residential market. The 2007 projection reflects a nearly 6 million-metric-ton decline in residential cement consumption levels compared to 2006.

Even with an overall decline in consumption, Sullivan sees a 1.5% increase in cement intensity in 2007. Cement intensity refers to the tons of cement per dollar of construction activity.

Since 2003, cement consumption has gone up 18%, the PCA says.

Indiana DOT Smoothes Over Everything

If you're looking for a smooth drive, look no further-the Indiana Department of Transportation is awarding the three smoothest new roads in the state.

Each spring INDOT recognizes contractors who have built the smoothest road during the previous construction season in each of three categories: