OPINION:
When California drivers have wildfire flames at their tailpipes or Floridians are fleeing Category 4 hurricanes by the thousands, not one of them gets to safer ground without highways, bridges or roads.
The same goes for someone whose parent is suffering a stroke or whose child is having a violent allergic reaction. The best medical facility might be within 5 miles, but without a reliable, accessible transportation infrastructure to get there quickly, lives could be lost.
Such infrastructure must always be available to Americans.
Historically, Congress passes a five- to six-year surface transportation authorization to provide funding certainty to states and municipalities so they can build, maintain and engineer roads, bridges, transit and rail projects. The last authorization came with the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which is set to expire Sept. 30.
The BUILD America 250 Act could provide Americans with infrastructure assurance, but it has been stalled in Congress. Lawmakers must resuscitate it to pass a long-term surface transportation reauthorization before the current law expires.
Things looked so promising in May, when the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee passed the legislation. The bipartisan bill crafted under the leadership of Chairman Sam Graves, Missouri Republican, and ranking member Rick Larsen, Washington Democrat, sailed through committee by a vote of 62-2.
Supporters, including those who manufacture the durable and reliable materials that build America’s transportation infrastructure, thought the bill had momentum. They believed it had a real chance.
Why would it not? The $580 billion bill includes $45 billion over five years to maintain America’s bridges. That is the largest bridge investment in U.S. history.
It would also provide the Highway Trust Fund with its first new revenue in more than 30 years, authorize $3 billion annually for transit construction, support passenger rail investments and reforms and advance new transportation projects and programs that promote efficiency and innovation.
Because the measure still needs to pass the House and has not yet begun its journey in the Senate, the September deadline will likely pass, and a short-term extension will be needed.
However, extensions are not solutions. They only prolong uncertainty.
In this case, current projects would likely be put on hold, meaning that engineers, construction workers and others would temporarily stop reporting for work — and stop getting paid.
Orders of building materials such as cement and concrete would freeze, hurting domestic manufacturers. Communities would lose out, as urgently needed new infrastructure and improvements to existing infrastructure would fail to materialize, and the domino effect would continue.
The morning of Jan. 28, 2022, during rush hour, the Fern Hollow Bridge in Pittsburgh took a 100-foot nosedive into a ravine. A bus and four cars traveling on the 447-foot bridge followed suit, falling into the valley below.
Miraculously, no one was killed, but 10 were injured, two seriously.
A federal investigation showed that the catastrophic failure resulted from excessive corrosion of the 50-year-old bridge and that the bridge was overdue for maintenance. Fortunately, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was in effect, so federal funding was available and came through quickly.
The infrastructure law allocated $25.3 million to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to rebuild the bridge, and the bridge reopened to traffic in December 2022 — less than a year after it collapsed.
Last year, a report by the American Society of Civil Engineers stated that 42,000 bridges across the country are in poor condition. Repairs must continue. Not being able to get somewhere in an emergency because of closed-off transportation infrastructure that should have been receiving routine maintenance can be terrifying. Frankly, it is unforgivable.
Those of us who manufacture the materials that build this country’s roads, bridges, highways and more should take pride in shouldering the huge responsibility of enabling Americans to get to where they need to go every day and in emergencies.
It is Congress’ responsibility to make sure the surface transportation infrastructure that our materials fortify remains safe, durable and functional for many decades to come. We implore lawmakers to pass the BUILD America 250 Act by Sept. 30 for America’s sake.
• Diane Tomb is president and CEO of the American Cement Association.
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