Early this morning, the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee passed a five-year, $548 billion surface transportation authorization proposal out of committee, mostly on a party-line vote.

Two Republican members of the committee, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González-Colón (R-Puerto Rico), crossed over and voted with the Democrats. The legislation, named the INVEST in America Act, passed out of the committee after a marathon session that began Wednesday morning and finished around 5 a.m. today. Both Democrats and Republicans offered hundreds of amendments during the process.

This proposal includes funding titles for highways – including roadway safety infrastructure, bridges, transit and passenger and freight rail. By and large, the legislation and the process were derided as partisan by Republican committee members.

The National Work Zone Memorial makes roadway safety personal by inscribing the names of people killed in work zone incidents. Each person left behind loved ones and co-workers who grieve the loss.

Members can help raise awareness of the toll of work zone incidents by hosting the tribute formally known as “The National Work Zone Memorial - Respect and Remembrance: Reflections of Life on the Road.”

The Foundation encourages ATSSA members, ATSSA chapters, state departments of transportation (DOTs) and industry leaders to host the Memorial at events. It is now available in two formats – a traveling Memorial and a virtual Memorial.

At a regional event in Michigan two years ago, Rachel Snell met Dave Krahulec, chair of The ATSS Foundation Board, and asked if the Foundation had any materials she could use with her students.

She wanted to teach them about the importance of work zone safety, thinking that if they started at a young age, the message would be remembered when they got old enough for a driver’s license. They also could share it with their parents and encourage them to be alert when approaching and passing through a roadway work zone.

This week, Krahulec delivered 250 of the Foundation’s youth activity books to her when he traveled to Michigan for the national kickoff event for National Work Zone Awareness Week.

That's when the widow of a roadway worker found out her idea had inspired their creation.

National Work Zone Awareness Week (NWZAW) begins today with a straightforward theme: Drive Safe. Work Safe. Save Lives.

Statistics are sobering. In 2019, 842 people were killed in 762 fatal crashes in work zones, including 135 roadway workers, according to the National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse. That means most of the people killed were motorists, passengers and pedestrians.

Today is Work Zone Safety Training Day, in which employers and workers are encouraged to pause voluntarily during the workday for safety demonstrations, training in hazard recognition and fall prevention, and talks about hazards, protective methods and the company’s safety policies, goals and expectations.

ATSSA President & CEO Stacy Tetschner today sent a letter to the heads of state Departments of Transportation requesting assistance in light of the current shortage of base resin.

Two major manufacturers of base resin are currently unable to provide the substance used in High Friction Surface Treatment applications due to circumstances beyond their control, Tetschner explains in the letter. He notes that the issue is related to February’s extreme weather events in the Midwest and Texas.

“With US-based materials supply limited, increased costs over the last several months, and a significant delay in shipping overseas materials to the United States, it is likely that some already agreed upon supply contract deadlines will be impacted,” Tetschner states in today’s letter to DOT secretaries across the country.