Last night, I attended a dinner and auction of the Tennessee Road Builders Association Mid-Year Meeting in Nashville, Tennessee. It is always great to catch up with some many friends … many of whom I met only six months ago while presenting as a speaker at the Annual Meeting in Kauia, Hawaii. The food
TRBA
Watch and Listen to House Reauthorization Bill Roll Out
I just received an alert from my friend, Kent Starwalt, Executive Vice President for the Tennessee Road Builders Association, announcing an important hearing on Thursday morning. House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.) has invited ARTBA members to join a webcast and conference call tomorrow where he will provide an overview of…
Tennessee Governor Haslam Talks to Road Builders About Jobs, Business Growth and Tort Reform
In a room filled with more than a hundred highway and bridge contractors, yesterday Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam helped kick off the Tennessee Road Builder Association’s "Day on the Hill" event. Haslam’s was a welcome voice to this group of business men and women who wanted to hear about ideas for growth, as well as…
Three Problems with Partnering on Construction Projects
Last week, I spoke at the annual meeting of the Tennessee Road Builders Association. Fellow speaker and lobbyist, Dave Bauer of the American Road & Transportation Builders Association, gave a legislative update on the status of Federal transportation funding. During his talk, Dave suggested that Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) can help, but are not…
FHWA Policy Defines What Land Can Be Acquired by Roadway Contractor
This must be the week for transportation. Yesterday, I received an update from the Tennessee Road Builder’s Association about the acquisition of right of ways on Federal funded projects. According to a memo from TDOT’s Chief Engineer Paul Degges, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) will be enforcing its policy that all property must be…
“Shovel Ready” Enough for Funding? Analysis of Stimulus Funds for Road Construction and Repairs
This morning I read Brad Heath’s article in USA Today, suggesting that the stimulus funding for road repairs has detoured and by-passed large metro areas with significant road problems.
According to the USA Today study, half of the nation’s worst roads will receive only about 20% of the stimulus money allocated for street repairs. The reason—the roads were not shovel…