ARTBA Washington Newsline

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NewslineWashington

Connolly Joins ARTBA’s Safety Team

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A D V E R T I S E M E N T

President Nominates Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx to Head U.S. DOT

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ARTBA Meets with U.S. DOT to Discuss DBE Program

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Una Connolly, a seasoned industry veteran, is ARTBA’s new vice president of safety and

environmental compliance. She joined the association April 29.

Connolly, who has a background in science and over a decade of experience in the transportation construction arena, previously worked as associate vice president of

Representatives of ARTBA met May 1 with senior officials at the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to discuss implementation of the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program. DOT Undersecretary for Policy Polly Trottenberg, Acting General Counsel James Cole, Jr. and Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez were among Department officials in attendance. ARTBA’s delegation included Contractors Division First Vice President Pete Getchell of PKF-Mark III; DBE Committee

President Obama April 29 nominated Mayor Anthony Foxx of Charlotte, N.C., to be the next U.S. Secretary of Transportation. Foxx would succeed Ray LaHood, who announced three months earlier he would not serve a second term at the Department. The 42-year old Foxx is a Charlotte native and graduated from North Carolina’s Davidson College before earning his law

degree at New York University. Following law school, Foxx entered private practice, clerked for a federal judge, worked for the U.S. Department of Justice, and served as a congressional committee staffer. Returning to Charlotte, Foxx served on the city council from 2005-2009 before being elected mayor in 2009. Foxx announced last month he would not seek another term as mayor.

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) said April 29 he intends to move the nomination through the panel “as soon as possible.” Senator John Thune (R-S.D.), who serves as the ranking Republican on the panel, said he will work with Rockefeller to ensure a fair and thorough confirmation hearing. The committee and full Senate

2 ARTBA Washington Newsline

Upcoming EventsVisit our Events Page for more information.

Federal Issues Program & TCC Fly-InJune 3-5Washington, D.C. [Add to Calendar]

Young Executive Development ProgramJune 3-6Washington, D.C. [Add to Calendar]

5th Annual Transportation Construction Law & Regulatory ForumJune 5 Washington, D.C.

25th Annual ARTBA P3 ConferenceJuly 24-26 Washington, D.C. [Add to Calendar]

ARTBA National ConventionSeptember 8-10 Milwaukee, Wis.[Add to Calendar]

Dr. J. Don Brock TransOvationTM

Workshop & Awards ProgramOctober 28-30 San Jose, Calif.

Local Transportation Management Virtual Conference & Innovation Showcase (LoTransTM 2013)November 19-20

Regional MeetingsWestern: December 2-3, Austin, Texas Central: December 4-5, St. Louis, Mo.Southern: December 9-10, Charlotte, N.C.Northeastern: December 11-12, Baltimore, Md.

2013

New Report Quantifies Economic Impact of Transportation ConstructionA report released by ARTBA April 23

shows the money invested in transportation construction industry employment and purchases generates $354 billion in annual U.S. economic activity—the equivalent of 2.25 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). That’s larger than the annual GDP of 153 nations, including Denmark ($333 billion), Israel ($243 billion) and oil-rich Venezuela ($316 billion).

“The U.S. Transportation Construction Industry Profile,” authored by ARTBA Chief Economist Dr. Alison Premo Black, finds the annual value of transportation construction reached nearly $120 billion in 2012, ranking larger than industry sectors like commercial and health care structures ($111.5 billion); motion pictures ($108.3 billion); and textile and apparel manufacturing ($72.7 billion).

The industry supports 3.4 million full-time jobs, which generate more than $135 billion in direct and induced wages nationally and contribute an estimated $11.6 billion in state and federal payroll taxes each year.

The transportation construction industry’s largest economic impact is in the

Click on the map to learn more about the positive economic and job creation impacts of transportation investment in your state.

state of California, where it generates or sustains more than 348,024 jobs. California is followed by New York (307,527), Texas (303,364), Florida (191,513) and Pennsylvania (166,199).

Data is easily accessed through www.transportationcreatesjobs.org, an

interactive website featuring a clickable U.S. map that provides detailed statistics on job creation, federal and state payroll tax revenue generated, and the size of each state’s transportation network, current road and bridge conditions, commuting patterns and motor vehicle crashes.

3ARTBA Washington Newsline

Products & Services

This is your best deal! Purchase ARTBA’s best-selling training videos as a three-pack and save $75. These videos provide: “common sense” tips for avoiding runovers and backovers, instruction on the proper use of PPE, and the fundamentals for becoming a better and more commanding flagger.

To purchase: www.artbastore.org

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ARTBA’s Safety Team Grows

Share Your Innovation Success Stories in TB Magazine

ARTBA is now accepting story submissions for the May/June issue of its bimonthly magazine “Transportation Builder” (TB). The annual “innova-tion issue” spotlights the transportation construction industry’s use of pioneering design and construction techniques, materials, equipment, state-of-the-art technology or improved safety features.

Stories should be 250 words or less, and should in-clude the project or product’s official name, location, cost, completion date and partners, if applicable. Please include a photo (minimum 300 dpi).

View an example of last year’s project profiles, and send your write-up and photo to TB Editor Jenny Ragone by May 17.

occupational and environmental health at the National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association. Earlier in her career, she was director of environment and safety services at the National Asphalt Pavement Association.

She is a registered environmental manager, has a master’s in international management from the University of Maryland and a bachelor’s in biology from Radford University in Virginia.

At ARTBA, she is responsible for implementation of programs under the association’s safety training contract with the Federal Highway Administration; management of the activities of the National Work Zone Safety Information

Clearinghouse, and development of new safety and environmental compliance training products. She joins an unmatched line-up of safety experts on the ARTBA team:

Brad Sant, senior vice president of safety and education, who has more than 25 years of experience, including 15 years at ARTBA, and at the

International Association of Fire Fighters and the Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO.

Robinson Vasquez, safety training and business development specialist, who has more than a decade of legal,

safety and management experience and is fluent in Spanish. Prior to joining ARTBA in 2012, Vasquez was an attorney in his native Peru, specializing in construction law, international business, and labor relations.

Omar Lopez, safety and Spanish language specialist, who for the past six years has led ARTBA’s development of Spanish-language safety training

programs, and provided instruction to thousands of workers in both English and Spanish.

To learn more about how ARTBA’s many safety products and programs can help your firm, contact Brad Sant.

Upcoming Modal Council Conference CallsPlease join ARTBA’s Ports & Waterways Council (PWC) and the Bridge Policy & Promotion Council (BPPC) on their May conference calls. The calls are open to any ARTBA member. Ports & Waterways CouncilWednesday, May 8, 2 p.m. (Eastern) [Add to Calendar]A staffer from the Senate Environmental and Public Works Committee or the HouseTransportation and Infrastructure Committee will provide a status update on the Water Resources Development Act and key policy reforms included in the legislation. *Contact Kenyon Gleason to participate.

Bridge Policy & Promotion CouncilThursday, May 16 , 11 a.m. (Eastern) [Add to Calendar]Tim Cupples, bridge & tunnel construction management team, Federal Highway Administration, will provide an update on national activities related to Accelerated Bridge Construction.*Contact Allison Klein to participate.

4 ARTBA Washington Newsline

“Americans want better infrastructure, but they will muddle along just fine in the 21st century when they don’t get it…But

the more relevant questions are how close the country’s infrastructure is to actual collapse — and whether the public cares…The think tanks have churned out piles of research that connect dollar signs in the billions and trillions to all manner of consequences. It boils down a simple fact and equally simple math: Post-World War II America is wearing out. It will cost a lot of money to fix.”

“Washington Post” reporter Ashley Halsey, III in an April 27 article, “Airport delays provide lesson on infrastructure, operations costs.”

“California’s bullet train was conceived 20 years ago from Quentin Kopp’s infatuation with European high-speed

rail. His beautiful brainchild, however, has since morphed into a monstrosity. Mr. Kopp seems more and more like the protagonist Victor Frankenstein of literary lore, disillusioned by what his ambitions have wrought.”

April 30 “Wall Street Journal” op-ed, “Can California Taxpayers Dodge the Bullet Train?,” by Allysia Finley.

Overheard“ ”

Legislative & Regulatory News

TRB Newsletter: April 23 Highlighting new research, technologies, industry best practices and information resources available to the transportation design and construction industry.

A service of ARTBA’s multi-modal councils, it features current transportation developments making news across all modes and regions. Contact Sara Jones to become a subscriber or visit www.artbamultimodal.org.

Fostering Innovation

MultimodalNews

ARTBA NewsDBE Program

Are Americans Driving Less?Several publications last

week seized on recently released data from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) on monthly automobile travel and were quick to claim people are driving less in 2013. While the DOT report clearly shows a 1.4 percent decline in vehicle miles traveled in February 2013 as compared to February

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Chairman Scott Piefer of Zenith Tech; and Denise Richardson of the General Contractors Association of New York, representing the Council of State Executives. Contractor representatives of the Associated General Contractors (AGC) of America (all of whom are also ARTBA members) also participated.

The group discussed several larger DBE program issues, including legal and regulatory limitations on prime contractors’ abilities to help grow DBE capacity, as well as the disparity between the pool of certified DBE firms and those actually able to participate as subcontractors on federal-aid highway projects. All parties agreed to a periodic dialogue on these important matters.

The meeting did not address DOT’s pending proposal to make major changes to the program through the federal rulemaking process. Under law, feedback from ARTBA and other groups is limited to written comments in response to the proposal, which ARTBA submitted in December 2012.The DOT proposal is still pending and it may be some time before the Department issues revised or final DBE rules changes. ARTBA continues to actively oppose a number of the proposed changes and will keep members fully informed.

In another DBE-related development, the DOT Office of Inspector General released April 23 an audit report questioning the effectiveness of DOT in achieving some of the program’s objectives. Major findings include a lack of clear guidance and training that should be

provided to state agencies, fragmented responsibility for the program within DOT and emphasis by state agencies on DBE certification rather than helping identify business opportunities for these firms. The report makes a number of recommendations, some of which the Department plans to implement.

For more information on ARTBA’s involvement with DBE policy issues, contact ARTBA’s Rich Juliano.

2012, there is more to the story. First and foremost, the same DOT report found a 0.3 percent increase in traffic in 2012 over 2011. Furthermore, the data shows that travel in some months of 2012 was above 2011 levels, while other months were below. It should also be pointed out that data for winter months are heavily influenced by weather conditions. Lastly, travel for the last four years has been essentially flat at three percent below its pre-recession peak in 2008. Claims about the latest DOT data signaling changes in societal behaviors must be considered in context, and the fact remains that the overall U.S. economic and employment situations are the primary factors in travel trends.

Senate to Begin Debate on WRDA Legislation

The Senate this week is expected to begin consideration of a new Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) for the first time in six years. The WRDA legislation passed unanimously out of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee March 20 and would:

5ARTBA Washington NewslineDownload a PDF copy of the digital “Washington Newsline.”

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Overheard Plus“ ”

“I wish Mayor Foxx well, but it will take more than good wishes to carry out the work of the DOT over the next three and a half years...I hope that the ‘loyal opposition’ will give the new secretary some space at the outset of his tenure...” Former Congressman Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.)

“I remain committed to building consensus about how to strengthen our infrastructure, promote economic growth, and make the nation more competitive in the global marketplace. Once he has been confirmed by the Senate, I look forward to working with Mayor Foxx to achieve these goals for our country.” House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.)

“Mayor Foxx is very innovative. He’s done a lot of great work there as mayor of Charlotte, and so I think he’s up for the challenge.” Former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norm Mineta

“As this will be a substantial part of the Department of Transportation’s workload in the near future, we need a leader who not only has the comprehensive knowledge to deal with these timely and important issues but also has the ability to fight the bureaucratic process of project delivery rather than become part of it.” Senate Environment & Public Works Committee Ranking Member David Vitter (R-La.)

Last week’s announcement on Obama’s Nomination of Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx to Head U.S. DOT had a lot of people talking in Washington. Here is what some of them had to say:

“When Anthony became mayor in 2009, Charlotte, like the rest of the country, was going through a bruising economic crisis. But the city has managed to turn things around. The economy is growing. There are more jobs, more opportunity. And if you ask Anthony how that happened, he’ll tell you that

one of the reasons is that Charlotte made one of the largest investments in transportation in the city’s history.” President Obama April 29 at the White House announcing the nomination.

will likely act on the nomination in the next few weeks.

During his tenure as mayor, Foxx was` involved with a number of transportation projects, including a new airport runway, light rail expansion, efforts to add streetcar service and several major highway and bridge projects. Foxx also worked part-time as the deputy general counsel of a hybrid electric bus manufacturer while on the Charlotte City Council. He will likely continue advocating many of the Obama Administration’s transportation priorities including high-speed rail, livable communities, and a broad-spectrum of safety initiatives. Perhaps the biggest challenge facing Foxx, should he be confirmed, is a reauthorization of last year’s surface transportation bill—particularly working with Congress to provide long-term stability for the Highway Trust Fund which faces critical revenue shortages beyond FY 2014.

• Fund Army Corps of Engineers levee construction and maintenance projects;

• Mandate annual revenues into the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund are completely invested in port maintenance and dredging projects;

• Streamline the project approval process for water resources projects; and

• Create a Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) that emulates the popular surface transportation credit assistance program TIFIA.

ARTBA and the ARTBA co-chaired Transportation Construction Coalition are urging all Senators to support the legislation and refrain from offering non-germane amendments that may jeopardize its passage.

Truck & Rail Carry 75 Percent of NAFTA Trade

Trucks carried 59.1 percent and rail carried 15.3 percent by value of the $88.4 billion total in trade between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico in February, according to the latest data from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Seaborne vessels carried 9.7 percent, pipelines carried 7.7 percent, and air shipments carried 3.6 percent. Additionally, the data show trade with Canada and Mexico has recovered completely from the depths of the recession. Furthermore, trade with Mexico has actually doubled from its recent low in 2009 and is roughly keeping pace with the all-time high trade levels from 2012. The data emphasize the continuing economic recovery

and forecasted population growth over the next several decades will continue to strain the nation’s transportation networks unless lawmakers at all levels of government make significant, targeted investments in transportation infrastructure improvements.

Anthony Foxx to Head U.S. DOT

6 ARTBA Washington Newsline

ARTBA Presses FHWA/FTA on Strict Interpretation of MAP-21 Reforms

Latest Data Sends Mixed Signals on Industry Employment

ARTBA urged the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) April 29 to revise their proposal to implement the “Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act” (MAP-21) expansion of the categorical exclusion (CE) process to take full advantage of these needed reforms. The law establishes two new classes of CEs for projects within existing rights-of-way and those using limited federal funds. ARTBA expressed concern that, as currently written, the agencies’ proposal would impose requirements and limitations on these new CEs that are not called for in MAP-21. A CE is used when a project’s expected impact on the environment

Overall construction industry employment increased by 154,000 jobs in April 2013 compared to April 2012, according to the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. National job growth across the economy was stronger than expected in April with employers adding 165,000 jobs and the unemployment rate dipping to 7.5 percent—the

SAVE THE DATE

25th Annual Public-Private Partnerships in Transportation Conference

July 24-26Grand Hyatt WashingtonWashington, D.C.

Featuring a special gala awards dinner

Program Contact: ARTBA P3 Division Managing Director, Hank Webster at 202.289.4434.

Sponsorship & Exhibits: ARTBA Vice President of Meetings & Events, Ed Tarrant at 202.289.4434.

is minimal and the process involves less regulatory burden than more cumbersome and time-consuming reviews. The difference between a CE and other reviews can be years or even a decade.

House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee witnesses struck a similar theme April 25 cautioning against making any changes to the law as written before it is fully implemented and its impacts can be accurately judged. ARTBA has long been a staunch supporter of expanding CE use. View ARTBA’s latest comments on the issue.

lowest rate since December 2007. However, the latest report also reveals employment in highway and bridge-specific construction fell by 4.4 percent in March 2013 compared to March 2012—sector specific figures are always delayed by one month. ARTBA will report on April’s highway and bridge results when they are released in June.

7ARTBA Washington Newsline

ARTBA is committed to help bring innovative products and services into the transportation design and construction marketplace —and to telling the public and their elected representatives how these innovations are providing solid returns on investment. In pursuit of these goals, ARTBA is proud to announce the start-up of a new, two-dimensional, digital marketing program for members: the Transportation Development Innovation Showcase (TDIS).

For less than half the cost of buying a one-time, full-page magazine ad in a publication aimed at industry purchasing decision makers, the TDIS program will provide your firm with a first-class, digital marketing tool AND a sustained marketing program aimed at approvers and buyers. Here’s what you will receive:

For further information, contact:Allison Klein: 202.289.4434 or aklein@artba.orgPeter Embrey: 202.289.4434 or pembrey@artba.org

Best of all, the price for this phenomenal marketing tool and promotions

program is only $5,000 for ARTBA members ($7,500, non-members).

1. An ARTBA team led by Matt Moore, a creative director with more than 20 years of award-winning broadcast video, advertising and multi-media experience—including three Super Bowl commercials—will produce a three-to- four-minute High Definition (HD) digital “infomercial” for your product or service. Each infomercial produced as part of the ARTBA TDIS will follow a simple, tried-and-true format designed to elicit action. They will state a problem to be solved or need to be met...explain how your product or service meets the need...provide testimonial support...and end with contact information for purchase follow-up.

2. Once produced, we’ll help you put your HD infomercial to work for you for maximum, long-term brand exposure. It will be:

• Permanently displayed on the ARTBA’s website,

www.artba.org, as part of the heavily promoted “Transportation Innovation & Solutions Central” micro-site. This site will serve as home plate for DOTs, local agencies and others to discover the latest industry technologies, product and services, or other innovations;

• Permanently posted on the ARTBA YouTube channel. ARTBA will email the link for your infomercial on the ARTBA YouTube channel in a special communication to over 10,000 transportation infrastructure design, construction and management executives and government officials; and

• Aired at the annual ARTBA Dr. J. Don Brock TransOvation™ Workshop & Exhibit event.

TRANSPORTATION DEVELOPMENT INNOVATION SHOWCASE

See what we did for Transpo Industries:

8 ARTBA Washington Newsline

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