Date: July 19, 2012
News - Local Support Wins $105 Billion in Transportation Construction
Funding critical for improving Maryland’s roads and bridges Washington, D.C. – Chaney Enterprises today applauded the enactment of the MAP-21 Transportation Bill recently signed into law by President Obama that will provide funding to improve the infrastructure on all public roads, with an emphasis on upgrades and new construction for dangerous highways and bridges.
Known as “Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century” or MAP-21, the new, two-year federal highway law extends transportation funding in the amount of $109 billion for a wide range of programs until September of 2014.
As leaders in the construction industry, representatives from Chaney Enterprises and Reliable Contracting Co., Inc., Millersville, Md., joined hundreds of workers on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. in March for the second annual “Rally for Roads,” the nation’s largest transportation funding advocacy rally.
Chaney’s outreach continued in June when concrete delivery professionals Kadrae Tongue and Kevin Simms joined Chaney Enterprises President and CEO William F. Childs, IV, visited with U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, to discuss the bill she co-sponsored with U.S. Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.).
MAP-21 will provide funds to improve the infrastructure on all public roads across the nation’s transportation system, enhancing the country’s ability to transport goods and people, impacting the international economic position of the U.S. In Maryland, 86 percent of the state’s commodities are transported by truck.
According to Childs, the MAP-21 funds are particularly critical for Maryland’s roads and bridges. In a report issued by TRIP, a national transportation research group, 44 percent of the state’s major roads are in poor or mediocre condition, costing Maryland drivers $1.6 million annually in extra vehicle repairs and operating costs, or $422 per driver. The national average for urban motorists annually is $402; the drivers from Baltimore City and surrounding suburbs pay $603 annually. Additionally, the Transportation Development Foundation reported that 26 percent of Maryland’s bridges are deficient or functionally obsolete, with an estimated repair/replacement cost of $2.2 billion.
Additionally, funding will also be made available for safety, congestion mitigation and air quality improvement. According to TRIP, vehicle traffic in Maryland increased by 36 percent between 1990 and 2008 while the state’s population grew by 23 percent during the same period. The metropolitan Washington region is the number one most congested and the Baltimore Metropolitan region is the fourth.
Chaney Enterprises, a concrete and aggregates company currently celebrating its 50th anniversary, has served customers throughout Southern Maryland, Anne Arundel and the Annapolis region, the Eastern Shore and the metropolitan Washington region since its founding. The company played a major role in the construction of the Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge across the Potomac River, and is a major contributor to construction in Southern Maryland. Reliable Contracting Company, also family owned and operated since 1928, is Anne Arundel County’s largest site-work contractor and a leader in commercial and residential construction.
For the construction industry, 1.8 million jobs will be saved and another 1 million jobs are to be created. For the concrete and aggregates industry, the new projects translate into 22-million additional cubic yards of concrete, which will require 31 million additional tons of sand, gravel and stone.
A major consideration for the states and counties will be efficiently budgeting funds, especially life-cycle costs. Recommendations from the September 2010 TRIP report call for more durable pavement materials and designs, including high performance concrete pavements, and adopting a preventive maintenance approach to adequately keep pavements in good condition. Both recommendations can realize more than one-third reduction in life cycle costs over 25 years.
“As constituents we spoke to our elected officials, who listened and understood that our infrastructure needs immediate attention and voted to support our position. The passage of MAP-21 proves our democratic process still works. It is gratifying to know that we do have the best form of government in the world,” said Childs.
For information call 301-932-5665 or visit www.ChaneyEnterprises.com.
From left are Chaney Enterprises CDPs Kevin Simms and André Carroll, Sen. Barbara Boxer, (D-Calif.) President & CEO William F.Childs.