(From a release by the Association of Equipment Manufacturers.) The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) has released a revenue-neutral solution to rebuild and modernize America's interstate highways without raising the gas tax. The proposal is being advanced by AEM in an ongoing effort to reinvigorate the stalled debate on infrastructure investment financing. The revenue-neutral ...

(A release from the National Asphalt Pavement Association.) A new study shows that one road to energy savings could already be under the wheels of our cars: smoother pavements. Dr. Richard Willis, an assistant research professor at Auburn University, reported that modest improvements in the smoothness of pavements could save up ...

(News from a release by the Associated General Contractors of America.) A bipartisan deal on policy and spending provisions of the highway section of the surface transportation reauthorization has been reached by Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Ranking Member Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.). The bill has ...

(A report from bloomberg.com found here. ) Home sales and construction in the U.S. probably rose in June from depressed levels as the industry struggled to gain traction in the face of foreclosures, falling prices and rising unemployment, economists said, according to a report by bloomberg.com. Purchases of previously owned homes climbed ...

(A report from thehill.com.) The U.S. Chamber of Commerce's criticism of the House Republican proposal for a new federal highway bill was "disappointing" and "a potential setback" to enacting the bill, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chairman Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.) has told the organization that is usually a GOP ally. In ...

(A release from the Rockefeller Institute of Government at the University of Albany.) Across the United States, states saw robust revenue gains during the first half of 2011, but weak property taxes drove down local tax collections, providing evidence of a weakening national economy and raising uncertainty for the future, according ...

BND.com, which serves the St. Louis region, reports that Missouri DOT officials have approved a five-year highway construction plan that significantly reduces spending from that of recent years. The state's Highways and Transportation Commission last week approved a plan to spend about $600 million on roads each year, compared with an ...

New research by the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis (HCRA) at the School of Public Health estimates that the additional fine particulate matter emissions that can be traced back to traffic congestion in the nation’s 83 largest urban areas lead to more than 2,200 premature deaths in the U.S. last ...

(News from Associated Builders and Contractors) Washington, D.C. – Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) reports that its Construction Backlog Indicator (CBI) for the first quarter of 2011 averaged 7.3 months, a 4 percent increase from 7.1 months during the fourth quarter of 2010, and up from 6.1 months, or an increase ...

The Iowa DOT has proposed a $2.3 budget for state highway construction projects from 2012 through 2016. The budget includes financing for a new rest area on Interstate Highway 35 north of Ankeny, the widening of I-35 from four to six lanes in West Des Moines, a new interchange on I-80 ...

In an effort to prompt Congress to pass a fully-funded, six-year highway bill , the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) and the I Make America campaign are conducting a Picture a Better America photo contest. The photos will underscore the need to invest in the United States' crumbling infrastructure as well as the workers ...

(News from the the Associated General Contractors of America.) Construction spending bounced back from an 11-year low in March, increasing by 1.4 percent to a total seasonally adjusted annual rate of $769 billion, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of new Census Bureau data released today. ...