Mar. 1, 2010 -- The
federal surface transportation program was in limbo the first week of
March as Congress adjourned for the week without enacting legislation
to extend highway and transit program spending authority beyond the
Feb. 28 deadline.
As a result, states will not be reimbursed for payments for ongoing
contracts starting on Monday, and Federal Highway Administration
employees will be furloughed on Tuesday, reported the Associated
General Contractors. As the House would not be back in session until
Tuesday, Mar. 2, and the Senate was not scheduled for a vote until
Tuesday afternoon, this stalemate might not be resolved until late the
first week of March at the earliest.
The 2005 surface transportation authorization law known as SAFETEA-LU
expired Sept. 30, 2009, and has been temporarily extended by Congress
three times. No agreement has been reached on moving forward with a
full six-year authorization measure due to questions over how to raise
additional revenue to pay for expanded federal highways and transit
programs. Now the program must be extended a fourth time to maintain
federal funding of road construction, but Congress failed to do so by
the end of February.
"We are deeply concerned about the severe impacts to state and local
transportation programs of this disruption of the federal highway and
transit programs," said John Horsley, executive director, American
Association of State Highway & Transportation Officials.
Two pending bills were intended to keep this shutdown from occurring
but efforts to pass either bill have been stymied, AGC reported. The
Jobs bill passed by the Senate the last week of February would have
extended highway program authorization through the end of the year, and
provided additional Highway Trust Fund revenue to keep the program
solvent.
When that bill was sent to the House, it encountered opposition from
the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrats who raised concerns that
the non-highway provisions in the bill violate the House statutory
PAYGO budget rules requiring an offset for increased spending, AGC
reported.
House and Senate Democratic leaders had attempted to mitigate this
situation by advancing a 30-day extension of unemployment insurance,
COBRA health benefits, and the surface transportation program, the
American Road & Transportation Builders Association reported. The
House passed the measure Feb. 25, but Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.), who is
retiring at the end of this year, blocked the legislation in the
Senate. Bunning was reportedly upset the bill would add to the
deficit and sought to have it paid for by cancelling unobligated
spending from the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act, ARTBA said.
"With Bunning unwilling to relent and Democrats opposed to canceling
stimulus funds, Senate leaders had few options," ARTBA said. "Both the
House and Senate have adjourned for the week and the authority to
expend funds from the Highway Trust Fund will formally lapse at
midnight Feb. 28."
In the meantime, the U.S. DOT furloughed nearly 2,000 employees without
pay Monday, Mar. 1, temporarily shutting down highway reimbursements to
states worth hundreds of millions of dollars, national anti-drunk
driving efforts, and multi-million dollar construction projects across
the country.
“As American families are struggling in tough economic times, I am
keenly disappointed that political games are putting a stop to
important construction projects around the country,” said U.S. DOT
Secretary Ray LaHood. “This means that construction workers will be
sent home from job sites because federal inspectors must be furloughed.”
Because of the shutdown, federal inspectors will be removed from
critical construction projects, forcing work to come to a halt on
federal lands. Projects span the country, including the $36 million
replacement of the Humpback Bridge on the George Washington Parkway in
Virginia, $15 million in bridge construction and stream rehabilitation
in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho, and the $8 million resurfacing of the Natchez
Trace Parkway in Mississippi.
With continued uncertainty about federal funding levels for highway and
bridge projects, state transportation departments immediately felt the
effects, AASHTO reported.
The Missouri Department of Transportation withdrew all projects it had
advertised for bid in February's bid opening that had been scheduled
for Friday, Feb. 26.
"There is not yet agreement between the Senate and the House on a
common bill to address the shortfall in federal funding for highway and
bridge projects to cities, counties, and states," said MoDOT Director
Pete Rahn the last week of February. "Because of this, MoDOT cannot
prudently proceed with the Feb. 26 bid opening."
Groundbreaking for the new $670 million Mississippi River crossing at
downtown St. Louis, scheduled for Friday, Feb. 26, was indefinitely
postponed.
AASHTO's Horsley said this is the time of year when states begin
awarding highway contracts for the spring season. "There is very little
programming going on right now," he said. "Many are either not doing
lettings, or sitting on the paperwork waiting for certainty to arrive
in the form of an extension."
Compiled from industry sources,
including AGC, ARTBA and AASHTO
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