The Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee proposal for a five-year, $304 billion surface transportation bill is a massive win for the roadway safety infrastructure industry with funding for the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) totaling $16.8 billion.

The bipartisan Surface Transportation Reauthorization Act (STRA) released Saturday by the EPW Committee represents a 34% increase over current spending levels.

The legislation represents a bipartisan effort in the Senate to pass a long-term highway reauthorization before the current extension of the law expires Oct. 1. The EPW Committee is expected to consider amendments and vote on the proposal on Wednesday.

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. (May 20, 2021) – Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) today introduced legislation known as the “High Risk Rural Roads Safety Act of 2021.” The bipartisan proposal would increase funding for the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) and create a $750 million HSIP set-aside directed solely for safety projects on high-risk rural roads, with $150 million of that directed to tribal lands.

The American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA) endorsed the bill that would ensure safety becomes a priority for locally owned rural roads in order to address the significant safety challenges in rural America.

Republican members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, led by Ranking Member Sam Graves (R-Mo.), today released their version of a transportation reauthorization ahead of likely Committee action in early June. The language, which is narrower in scope than the House-passed transportation bill last year, would spend $400 billion over five years on federal-aid highway projects, an increase of 32% over current funding levels.

Dubbed the Surface Transportation Advanced through Reform, Technology & Efficient Review Act 2.0 (STARTER Act 2.0), the legislation includes increases to the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP).

During AASHTO's 2021 Virtual Spring Meeting on Monday, the Council on Highways and Streets (CHS) gathered to provide updates from various stakeholders. The discussion included an update on the Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) scoping study to determine the feasibility and potential next steps to convert MASH into a set of performance specifications.

Joyce Taylor from the Maine Department of Transportation (MaineDOT), who serves as design vice chair with AASHTO, gave an update on the MASH scoping study conducted by Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI). She discussed the challenges related to current testing procedures and the gray areas within the existing manual that lead to a lack of consistency, as testing may be conducted differently by facilities.

The scoping study, conducted by TTI and sponsored by AASHTO, was completed in April.

Infrastructure is in the news nearly daily and is a hot topic in the nation’s capital as Congress and the president propose ideas to address infrastructure needs.

Infrastructure Week kicks off on Monday and focuses on meeting the nation’s needs for roads and bridges as well as safe travel for pedestrians and bicyclists.

“Infrastructure is critical to roadway safety,” ATSSA President & CEO Stacy Tetschner said. “This week provides one more reminder of the importance of coming together to provide safe travel for all roadway users. In a nation where division is all too common these days, infrastructure unites us.”