Raising fuel taxes and gaining outside industry support for the next surface transportation reauthorization bill, slated for 2009, will be more crucial than ever, said officials of the American Road and Transportation Builders Association at the group''s annual meeting in Fort Lauderdale Oct. 9-12.

The reauthorization of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act, a Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) will be "the most critical since 1956," said Jack L. Schenendorf, a lawyer with Covington & Burling LLP, Washington, D.C., and vice chairman of the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission. "Business as usual is not possible....It is a crisis."

The commission was formed to research future revenue methods for the Highway Trust Fund and develop a consensus for the framework of the next bill. Its report to Congress is expected by the end of this year.

 
New LED highway safety signs from Japan are set to make U.S. debut, with stop at Intertraffic 2007 exhibit.

According to ARTBA, at least a 10¢ increase in fuel taxes per gallon is needed by 2010 to prevent the federal funding shortfall from hitting as much as $19 billion over the next six-year cycle just for maintenance. It also has proposed "critical commerce corridors" emphasizing strategic truck routes funded by user fees on freight shipments.

The commission is also finding that project delivery methods cutting duration of projects by a third to a half will be necessary, Schenendorf said. Implementing performance-based standards for contracts may also be part of the commission report, he added.

ARTBA''s conference overlapped with the Intertraffic North America trade fair, National Traffic Management & Work Zone Safety Conference and International Road Federation meeting. Barrier Systems Inc., Rio Vista, Ca., displayed one of its newer products, a guardrail terminal barrier made of steel posts and brackets, designed to absorb the impact of vehicles up to 4,400 lb at 62 mph.

Kojima & International Associates Inc., a Japanese firm, is planning to introduce its range of LED-powered message signs and warning lights for use on U.S. highways. The signs are easily programmed to display various images or messages in different colors, and automatically adjust to the level of daylight, says Kiyo Kojima, vice president of operations in the firm''s Atlanta office. That means they can run on batteries for 15 days as opposed to six, he says.

Also saving energy is a new work-zone safety light powered by both solar cells and batteries, displayed by Empco-Lite, Elgin, Ill. The lights have proven to last at least 17 months so far, says EMP president Clarence Labar. "There''s no excuse for unlit lights in a construction zone," he says.

As of Nov. 24, 2008, there also will be no excuse for not wearing high-visibility safety apparel on federal highway projects, thanks to a final rule established by SAFETEA-LU, notes Robert Loving, spokesman for AlertVisions, Ashland, Va., a safety apparel manufacturer.