PCA: Congress completes work on multi-year Highway Bill

The PCA announced that the US Senate last night passed a final surface transportation reauthorisation bill that provides more than US$280bn to maintain and improve the nation's highways, transit systems, and transportation safety programs.

Senate approval came only hours after the legislation, known as the FAST Act, cleared the US House of Representatives with broad bipartisan support. Passage in both chambers clears the way for the measure to be signed into law by the President.

“We've waited a long time for this moment: this is the first long-term highway bill since 2005,” said James G Toscas, president and CEO of the Portland Cement Association (PCA). “Congress has finally proven to the American people that our nation’s transportation infrastructure is a priority.  We applaud the leaders in the House and Senate for a successful bipartisan effort.”

The bill includes several elements proposed by the cement industry, such as the authorisation of a federal study to analyse the impact of pavement stiffness on vehicle fuel economy, the reauthorisation of the Accelerated Implementation and Deployment of Pavement Technologies (AID-PT) program, and Hours of Service (HOS) exemptions for the ready-mixed concrete industry.