Staff Report
Published Sept. 7, 2010

Carolinas Associated General Contractors and the Associated General Contractors of America today urged Congress to pass a new six-year highway and transit bill.

“We need to pass a transportation bill that will put people to work shoring up our aging infrastructure,” said Congressman James Clyburn, D-S.C. “Enacting a comprehensive transportation law will be the best boost we can give to the economy right now while we improve the safety and security of our roads and bridges.”

At the same time, a national effort to push for long-delayed legislation to provide federal funds to fix aging roads and unsafe bridges was also launched with the unveiling of new highway billboards. The campaign, to cover dozens of states this fall, is designed to educate the public about why passing a federal transportation bill is essential to improving road conditions.

“You would expect that as South Carolina’s roads age, the men and women who work on them would be at their busiest,” said Leslie Hope, director of S.C. Government Relations and Divisions for CAGC. “Unfortunately, they’re being held back by the fact that the federal highway and transit funding bill that provides over 80% of the state’s surface transportation budget is 11 months late.”