Bucking a Trend?

There is good news for the transportation industry. Both House and Senate transportation bills would significantly boost federal transportation investment. When compared with federal legislation recently passed by Congress for 2004 at $33.6 billion, the Senate reauthorization bill, S.1072, would create a federal highway investment program that would begin at about $36 billion and grow to $42 billion annually by 2009. Under the House bill, H.R.3550, highway investment would ramp up from about $40 billion and grow to nearly $60 billion by 2009. Under either scenario, the transportation construction industry has a good financial forecast. If work-zone fatalities continue to increase at the same rate as construction spending, those increases in federal dollars could result in even higher work-zone fatality rates. While there are many factors that contribute to work-zone deaths, the transportation construction industry must step up its vigilance now to protect workers and motorists to reverse this disturbing trend.