Senate Passes $318-Billion Bill to Succeed TEA-21

In the face of a Bush administration veto threat, the Senate has approved a $318-billion measure that will fund highway and transit programs for the next six years. The new bill, approved by a comfortable 76-21 margin the evening of Feb. 12, represents an increase of about 45 percent over the funding contained in the current authorization statute, the 1998 Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century.

TEA-21 expired last Sept. 30 and Congress approved a five-month extension to keep the highway and transit funds flowing. But that extension runs out on Feb. 29.

Senate advocates and their construction industry supporters cheered the latest vote, but there's a cloud on the horizon: The White House said the bill's price tag is too rich and adds that administration officials would recommend a presidential veto unless the legislation is cut back.

The administration has a $256-billion proposal on the table, but President Bush hasn't said publicly whether he's willing to accept something higher than that. He did make clear a bill totaling $290 billion is too high, according to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) Nevertheless, the Senate's vote to pass the bill is well above the two-thirds majority needed to override a presidential veto.

The other question mark overhanging the legislation, which would be the largest public works bill in U.S. history, is: What will the House do? On Feb. 11, that chamber approved a further, four-month extension of TEA-21, to continue the surface transportation programs into June. It is unclear whether the House will be spurred by the Senate vote to pass its own multi-year bill, or stand pat with the extension.

Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman James Inhofe (R-Okla.), who led the floor fight for the new "SAFETEA" bill, for Safe, Accountable, Flexible and Efficient Transportation Equity Act, said the legislation provides "crucial funding to improve our nation's transportation infrastructure in a fiscally responsible manner while creating millions of new job opportunities to help our economy grow."

The package authorizes $255 billion for highways, $56.5 billion for mass transit and $6 billion for highway safety. To help "donor" states, the bill ensures that all states will receive at least 95 cents in federal highway aid for each dollar in fuel taxes that their motorists pay into the Highway Trust Fund. But it doesn't completely make good on that guarantee until fiscal 2009, the final year of the bill.

Some of the Senate opposition came from those representing states like Pennsylvania and New Hampshire, which got relatively small funding increases compared with other states' allocations. Source: Engineering News-Record. By Tom Ichniowski.

For the latest information on the transportation reauthorization effort, visit www.ENR.com and click on the "Reauthorizing TEA-21" news center.

Gate Renames its Precast Concrete Plants

Gate Precast Co. is the new name for all six of the architectural precast concrete plants being operated by the company, a division of Gate Petroleum Co., Jacksonville, Fla. The following plant locations will operate as Gate Precast Co.: Nashville; Winchester, Ky.; Oxford, N.C.; Monroeville, Ala.; and Sarasota and Kissimmee, Fla. Gate Concrete Products Co. will continue to operate its prestress operations under that name in Jacksonville and Houston.

Tilt-Con Wins National Awards

Tilt-Con Corp. of Altamonte Springs, Fla., recently won three awards for best tilt-up projects by the Tilt-Up Concrete Association, including one for this Mercedes-Benz of Fort Lauderdale auto dealership. The firm also won awards for its work at the Vistakon project in Jacksonville, and its Mia Shoes project in Miami.

ASLA Makes Call for Entries for 2004 Awards

The American Society of Landscape Architects has released its 2004 Awards Call for Entries, available online at http://www.asla.org/awards/2004/brochure.htm.

The program features four categories of professional awards: design; analysis and planning; research; and communications. The program also includes the Community Service Award, recognizing landscape architects providing pro bono service to the community, and the Landmark Award, recognizing a project completed between 15 and 50 years ago.

The deadline for the entry form is April 30, and submission materials must be postmarked by May 14. Award recipients and their clients will be honored at the ASLA Annual Meeting and Expo, to be held Oct. 30 in Salt Lake City.