Washington Report: Infrastructure Week

by Patty Power, ACPA Washington Advocate

Infrastructure Week returns as Congress starts to consider reauthorization of the federal surface transportation programs, which expire on September 30, 2026.  Federal transportation programs support ACPA members. Federal transportation programs fund construction of roads and bridges, transit infrastructure, rail, and port and highway freight projects. These projects are built all over the country and use a lot of concrete, much of which will be pumped.

In addition, concrete pumps travel on road and bridges. To maintain your trucks, road and bridge infrastructure needs to be sound. To maintain your concrete pumpers’ daily work schedules, roads and bridges need to be maintained well enough to keep traffic moving. Pumpers are not paid to sit in traffic. A successful federal transportation program supports concrete pump jobs and provides business in addition to building sound travel surfaces.

Congress first authorized federal road programs in 1916. After nearly 110 years, they are still figuring it out! These days, the federal surface transportation law is authorized for five years at a time. The reauthorization process typically begins nearly two years prior to the current law’s expiration date. Despite a running start, Congress rarely meets their deadline to renew the many Department of Transportation programs supporting surface transportation.

To communicate ACPA’s legislative priorities, we are meeting with congressional offices, submitting comments on your behalf to the Department of Transportation, and have signed NACA and American Road & Transportation Builders Association letters to Congress and the Administration. Those priorities include:

Maintain baseline investment levels for highways, public transit and multimodal programs. Highway, bridge and public transit investment levels for fiscal year 2026 should, at a minimum, be carried forward with inflation adjustments, regardless of the previous budgetary source of these programs. These investments are needed for safety enhancements, infrastructure rebuild and congestion relief.

Invest in resilience. Surface transportation investments should maintain an investment in resilient transportation infrastructure. Due to the durable nature of concrete, surface transportation infrastructure built with concrete has a service life of 30 to 50 years without the need for frequent resurfacing, repairs or patching. This longevity not only reduces the maintenance costs and travel delays on roads undergoing needed repair — maintaining a focus on resilient transportation infrastructure both when it is first built and when it is repaired reduces long term costs. Concrete infrastructure also withstands natural disaster threats better than competitive construction materials, whether the storm brings wind, flooding or fire. Rebuilding with concrete after storm destruction makes sense for communities recovering from a storm.

Bridge investments. Reauthorization of the surface transportation program should maintain investments in bridges. One in three bridges is in need of repair or replacement. Continuing bridge investments will enable states and communities to plan, design and build critical bridge projects. Safer bridges will protect our concrete pumps traveling to and from job sites.

Maximize state flexibility. An effective national transportation program must provide states the necessary flexibility and resources through formula funds to meet the unique needs of each community.

Prioritize safety for all system users. Increased investment and research should be directed toward improving roadway, public transit and work zone safety to ensure the traveling public and construction workers get home safely at the end of each day.

Reform project delivery to accelerate construction and control costs. Streamline federal requirements to eliminate environmental review and permit challenges that prevent timely project delivery. Strengthen the One Federal Decision approach to ensure its full utilization. Create a timely waiver process for Buy America while maintaining existing exemptions for certain construction materials, like concrete. A more efficient regulatory process will help ensure that federal surface transportation investment is focused on building effective transportation solutions.

What is ACPA doing to support a successful 2026 surface transportation reauthorization? ACPA submitted comments outlining our priorities in a request for information from Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy last month.  In addition, ACPA joined in industry letters to Congress and the DOT as discussed above.  ACPA’s lobbying team is joining other NACA lobbyists on Capitol Hill to press our joint priorities and we will continue to do so. And we are working with CAMRA and NACA to plan a Washington fly-in early next year. We will continue to look for more opportunities to contribute in getting our priorities included in final passage on time.

Watch this space in the coming year to stay informed on ACPA’s role in surface transportation reauthorization and what to expect next.